Darth Claria: Red Lady of the Sith
by TienVogh
Summary: What if Mara Jade had a vision of the events at Endor and went to the rescue of the Emperor? After Vader's death, she becomes Palpatine's new Sith apprentice under the name Darth Claria. But Lumiya, Vader's secret apprentice, once in love with Luke, also wants to claim her master's legacy. Infinities story based on Star Wars Legends, set in 4 ABY. Translation - AU/Canon Deviation
1. Prologue and Chapter 1: The Vision

**Hello there!**

 **This is an Infinities – Canon Deviation – story based on the Legends continuity. It starts near the end of _Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi_ and after Mara's return from Svivren in the comic _By the Emperor's Hand_.**  
 **Quite a number of characters from the Original Trilogy and the Legends Extended Universe will appear in this story and some of them will have a very different fate. A few original characters will also appear. Expect to see action/adventure, political intrigues, humor, romance, dark moments and a touch of erotism (hence the Mature rating).**  
 **You can read this story without knowledge of the Legends Universe but it assumes that you've seen the movies. Feel free to ask me questions if something is not clear for you. The story is complete in french and translation in english is in progress. I will update as soon as a chapter is completed.**  
 **It goes without saying that Star Wars and its characters are the property of Lucasfilm. I'm only borrowing them. I would like to thank all the Star Wars official authors for the universe and the characters they have created, in particular Georges Lucas, Timothy Zahn, Michael A. Stackpole, Aaron Allston (may the Force be with him) and Barbara Hambly.**

* * *

 **Darth Claria: Red Lady of the Sith**

 **Prologue**

 _4 years after the battle of Yavin_

A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away...

Emperor Palpatine left to join Darth Vader on board the second Death Star orbiting the forest moon of Endor. He is about to put the final touch to the trap he set up for the Rebel Alliance.

Luke Skywalker, back from Dagobah where he saw old master Yoda blend into the Force and learned that Leia was his twin sister, joined his rebel friends to take part in the decisive battle against the Empire.

Her last mission accomplished, Mara Jade, The Emperor's Hand, is back on Coruscant for a well earned leave.

Lumiya, Vader's young cyborg pupil, was secretly sent by her master on Ziost, an ancient Sith world, in search of millennia forgotten secrets.

Ysanne Isard, the all powerful director of Imperial Intelligence, is worried: the Rebels are amassing a huge fleet in the Sullust system and she has no news from the Emperor since his departure for Endor.

The Galaxy's fate is about to tip over.

* * *

 **Chapter 1: The vision**

 _Imperial City, Coruscant_

Mara Jade was sitting on the floor in her private apartment of the Imperial Palace, meditating. After the failure of her mission on Tatooine to eliminate Luke Skywalker, Emperor Palpatine had sent her to Svivren to eliminate a crime lord who sought to build a new criminal empire called the Black Nebula. This mission was successful and the Emperor, having no other task to give her immediately, told her to go back to Coruscant to rest and clear her mind.

But something was not right. The Black Nebula should have been seriously destabilized by its leader's death, yet the activities of the criminal organization appeared undisrupted.

Could it happen that Mara was deceived by a decoy, that she had not eliminated the right person?

She decided to reach into the Force to try to find answers. Meditation was not her best skill, she was rather an action woman, but after several minutes of intense concentration, images began to form in her mind.

But she didn't saw what she was expecting. She saw a large dark room she recognized from holographic simulations she had already seen: the Imperial throne room on the new Death Star. Two dark figures clashed in a lightsaber duel. The first one, imposing, was dressed in black armor and wielded a red lightsaber. She recognized him immediately: Darth Vader, the Dark Lord of the Sith, apprentice and right hand man of the Emperor. The second one, also dressed in black, wielded a green blade. She also recognized him: Luke Skywalker, the Rebel Alliance hero who destroyed the first Death Star, the young man Vader hunted for years, the one she failed to kill.

As incredible as it might seem, the young Skywalker seemed to take the advantage over the Sith Lord. The face distorted by anger, his lightsaber struck with incredible speed and precision, Vader could only parry the blows, backing out gradually. He was soon cornered on a catwalk hanging over the core shaft, he could not back out further.

Luke continued to attack, Vader had to kneel to block his strikes. But eventually, the green saber overshoot his guard and severed his right hand. Mara then heard an ominous chuckle she knew very well, that of her Lord and master, Emperor Palpatine:

"Good, boy!" the Emperor said. "Your hate has made you powerful! Now, fulfill your destiny and take your father's place at my side!"

Luke froze for a moment, he stared at Vader lying on the ground, whose robotic right hand he had just severed, then at his own right hand, artificial too, which replaced the one the Dark Lord had severed on Bespin. He switched off his lightsaber and turned to the Emperor.

"Never!" he said. "Never will I turn to the Dark Side! You have failed, your Highness. I am a Jedi, as my father was before me."

"So be it, Jedi," the Emperor replied contemptuously. "If you will not be turned, you will be destroyed."

Without further warning, blue lightning left the Emperor's hands and struck the young man. He fell to the ground, screaming with pain.

"Young fool!" the Emperor barked. "Your puerile skills are no match for the power of the Dark Side. You will now pay the price for your total lack of vision!"

Force lightning struck Luke harder and harder. Vader had risen and placed himself behind the Emperor. Luke begged him:

"Father! Help me!"

"He's my slave, not your father!" the Emperor replied. "Lord Vader, when I'd have slain this last Jedi, you will cast his body down the core shaft!"

"Father, no!"

"Now, young Skywalker, you will _die_!"

Lightning struck again, harder than ever. Vader stared at his son screaming, then at his master. Suddenly he turned and grabbed the Emperor.

"Vader, what are you doing? Release me, I command you, I am your master!"

"Darth Vader's master," he replied, "but not Anakin Skywalker's."

The lightning was now striking Vader, with such an intensity that one could see his skull shining through the metal helmet. But he continued to advance towards the core shaft and in a final effort, threw the Emperor into the void. He screamed as he fell and then seemed to explode in a flash of blue light.

The vision vanished and Mara found herself back in her apartment. She was sweating and her heart was pounding. She took a deep breath and tried to put her thoughts in order. So, Luke Skywalker was Darth Vader's son, this explained the Dark Lord's obsession for the young rebel and why the Emperor wanted her to eliminate him. But she had failed. By her fault, her master would die.

No, this had not yet happened, she would have felt it, she could still prevent it. But what could she do? Attempting to contact the Emperor through the Force to warn him? But would he listen to her? Kadann, the Supreme Prophet of the Dark Side, had warned him that the trap he had patiently set up for the Rebel Alliance could turn against him, but he had not listened. Since then, the Supreme Prophet and his followers had fled Coruscant and the imperial wrath for a distant exile.

No, this would get her nowhere, she plunged back into her thoughts, looking for an answer.

Born just over a year after the rise of the Empire, Mara had almost no memory of her true parents. She had been abducted very young and raised at the Imperial Palace on Coruscant. The Emperor had told her that she was different, a child of the Force with great power. He would teach her how to use that power in service of the Empire. Officially, she was a young dancing girl in the Palace troupe, but she also underwent intensive training as a secret agent specialized in espionage and assassination. The Emperor personally undertook to teach her how to use the Force and wield a lightsaber. When her training was complete, he presented her with a magenta-colored lightsaber and took her to his service as a trusted agent. Vader was the Emperor's main enforcer, she was his Hand, charged with missions requiring discretion and finesse. Although their assignments were complementary and not competing, the Dark Lord had always been cold and dismissive with her, as if he feared that the young woman could one day take his place. Mara had not received Sith teachings but, having access to the Emperor's extensive private library, she had been able to learn the basic principles of the secret order of the Dark Side. In particular, the Rule of Two: a master to embody power and an apprentice to crave it. It was clear that the Emperor was the master of the order and Vader his apprentice. She also understood that Vador would one day betray his master, trying to take his place, it was the Sith way. If he failed in his attempt, she would then have a chance to replace him at the Emperor's side.

What she had to do now became clear: she had to go as soon as possible aboard the Death Star and confront Vader. It was the only way to avoid her master the fatal outcome she had glimpsed and her chance to prove that she was worthy to become a Sith Lady.

She got up to take her comlink and called her protocol droid.

"K3? Mara Jade here. Have my ship prepared for immediate takeoff, I will join you at the Palace spaceport in a quarter of an hour."

"At your orders, mistress," the droid replied.

She took a sanisteam, put on her battle outfit and headed for the spaceport. The cargo ship the Emperor placed at her disposal was ready for departure according to her orders, and a flight path had been established for her to leave the capital planet. Her ship soon jumped into hyperspace towards the Endor system.

* * *

In her office, Ysanne Isard was reviewing on her terminal the latest reports from her intelligence services. All confirmed a massive gathering of the rebel fleet in the Sullust system and rebel activists had been spotted on Coruscant as well as on Naboo. She had tried without success to call the Emperor aboard the Death Star, but had only managed to speak to advisor Janus Greejatus who repeated to her every time that the Emperor and Lord Vader didn't want to be disturbed under any circumstances and that the situation was perfectly under control. To hell with these insignificant and sycophantic bureaucrats! She had a bad feeling about this. She was thinking how best to handle the situation when her comlink rang.

"Isard." she answered.

"Madam Director, lieutenant Malik here, Palace spaceport security. You may be interested to know that the Emperor's Hand has just left Coruscant in all haste."

"Have you picked up her departure vector?"

"Yes Madam, I'm transferring the data."

"Thanks Lieutenant, you did well to warn me."

"At your service, Madam Director."

She entered the data on her terminal. A ship's departure vector did not always allow to deduce its destination, it was common practice to make intermediate jumps to cover one's tracks. But if Jade was in such a hurry, she might go directly to her final destination.

Ysanne grinned as the trajectory projected onto her screen, superimposed on a galactic map. It went straight to the Endor system. The Emperor's Hand left to rejoin her master.

* * *

 _Note : Additional dialogues in Mara's vision, not present in the movie, are taken from the radio drama **Star Wars: Return of the Jedi** adapted in 1996 by Brian Daley for the US National Public Radio._


	2. Chapter 2: Saving the Emperor

**Mara Jade goes on the second Death Star, trying to save her master.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Saving the Emperor**

 _Endor system, approaching the Death Star_

Mara's ship left hyperspace near the forest moon of Endor. The Death Star, whose spherical structure was not yet finished, was in stationary orbit around the moon, protected by a powerful and invisible energy field. No other ships were visible nearby.

She had not returned to normal space for thirty seconds that a male voice with an authoritative tone was heard in the speakers of the communication system.

"Unidentified cargo ship, you are entering a restricted space under control of the Imperial fleet, identify yourself immediately!"

"Emperor's Hand here, recognition code Hapspir, Barrini, Corbolan, Triaxis. I must meet His Majesty urgently. Request deactivation of the security field and permission to land in the docking bay closest to the throne room."

"Roger that, ma'am, reduce your speed and stay on hold."

Mara put her ship in stationary position and waited. The communication officer certainly had to transmit her request to a superior. The answer arrived less than a minute later.

"Emperor's Hand, the deactivation of the energy field begins immediately, and we are sending you the docking coordinates. A security officer will wait for you in hangar bay two hundred and seventy three to take you to the throne room."

A few minutes later, Mara landed her ship in the hangar bay that had been indicated to her, next to an imperial lambda class shuttle.

"Wait for me here and keep the ship ready for immediate take off, K3," she said to her protocol droid before disembarking.

As she had been told, a stormtrooper in armor with a lieutenant's shoulder pauldron was waiting for her down the ramp.

"Welcome aboard the Death Star, ma'am, I was charged to escort you to His Majesty's throne room."

The Emperor's throne room was located on top of a two hundred meters high tower at the north pole of the battle station. Mara and the security officer took a turbolift in the rear of the hangar bay, then several corridors they followed a few hundred meters to the entrance of the turbolift that led to the throne room, in front of which were two Imperial guards armed with force pikes. The stormtrooper lieutenant left and she stood before the guards.

"I am the Emperor's Hand, I must see His Majesty immediately," she said, repeating the four codes that identified her as a trusted agent in direct service of the Emperor.

"Sorry, ma'am," replied one of the guards, "but the Emperor does not want to be disturbed under any circumstances."

"It is a matter of the utmost importance, the life of the Emperor may be in jeopardy. Let me in!"

"I regret but my orders are strict, nobody should enter while the Emperor and Lord Vader question the rebel prisoner."

Mara considered her options. She could easily get rid of the guards and force the passage but it was certainly not the best way to achieve her ends. How could she prove Vader's betrayal to her master? She had to act in a more subtle way.

"Very well," she replied. "I'll come back later when they're done with the prisoner."

Along the way, she had seen a computer terminal a hundred meters before the throne room. She retraced her steps and went to the unoccupied terminal. She entered the master access codes that the Emperor had provided her and which guaranteed her full access to the computer systems of the station. Alarms suddenly sounded but it had nothing to do with her intrusion. A voice announced the Death Star entering alert state following the arrival of the rebel attack fleet.

"Attention, red alert, rebel ships coming out of hyperspace in quadrant five, all combat personnel must return to their post immediately!"

The corridor then began to swarm with soldiers and officers going to their combat posts. No one paid attention to her as she displayed the map of the sector she was in and looked for a way to enter the throne room discreetly. She quickly found what she needed: a vent that led up the tower and over a passageway running around the core shaft. An access point was in a lateral corridor about fifty meters from her current position. She turned off the terminal and went to the vent inlet. After making sure no one could see her, she deactivated the security devices, unsealed the grating, slipped into the vent and closed behind her. She lit a glowrod and began to crawl. She had to travel about two hundred and fifty meters to reach the outlet in the throne room.

She had traveled about fifty and reached the bottom of the tower when she felt a vibration followed almost immediately by a disturbance in the Force indicating that a significant number of people had just died. She understood that the superlaser of the battle station was operational and that it had just fired its first salvo on the Rebel fleet. She resumed her way and began to climb. Fortunately, there was no artificial gravity in the tower itself and her ascent was only curbed by the weak natural gravity of the station, equivalent to that of a small moon. It took her nevertheless long minutes to reach the top of the tower, then the outlet grating. She turned off her glowrod and trying to hide her presence, she watched the events unfolding in the room, waiting for the right moment to act.

Vader paced the vast room, examining the dark recesses in search of the young Skywalker.

"You cannot hide forever, Luke."

"I will not fight you," the young man replied.

"Give yourself to the Dark Side, Luke. It is the only way you can save your friends."

"No!"

"Your thoughts betray you, son. Your feelings for them are strong, especially for– Sister! So, you have a twin sister! Your feelings have now betrayed her too. Obi-Wan was wise to hide her, but now his failure is complete. If you will not turn to the Dark Side, perhaps _she_ will?"

"NEVER!"

Giving in to anger, Luke threw himself on Vader and quickly gained the upper hand as Mara had seen in her vision. As a matter of fact, the following events unfolded exactly as she had seen them. She prepared to act, and when Vader seized the Emperor, she blew up the outlet grating with the Force and jumped onto the passageway, switching on her lightsaber.

"Vader, release His Majesty at once!" she shouted at him.

But he ignored her and continued to move forward, preparing to throw Emperor Palpatine into the void. Fearing to hurt her master, Mara switched off her blade and called on the Force. At the moment Vader threw him over the railing, she focused her mind towards the Emperor, seized him and made him float over the void to the other side. As he regained his mind, she relit her lightsaber and advanced towards Vader, who had been seriously wounded by the Emperor's Force lightning and had collapsed at the edge of the core shaft. Luke was lying a few meters away, still shaken by spasms.

"So be it, Anakin Skywalker, you will die along with your son," the Emperor hissed.

Mara was about to finish the fallen Sith when a brutal sensation of danger invaded her mind. Turning her gaze towards the large observation viewport in transparisteel, she saw a rebel X-wing fighter zooming past, followed closely by an Imperial TIE. She immediately realized what it meant.

"My Lord, we must leave immediately, the security field has been deactivated, this station can be destroyed any time now!"

"No, kill them first!"

"Master, please, we have no time! My ship is waiting, ready to leave. Let's abandon them here, they are already wounded and will die anyway when this station will explode!"

In turn, Palpatine was invaded by the sensation of impending peril. He agreed with the advice of his young pupil.

"Yes, you are right my child, let's go! May this station be their tomb!"

With a surprising speed for a man his age, the Emperor headed for the turbolift, followed by Mara. At the tower's base, the two Red Guards who had refused to let Mara in were still there, impassive, while men were running in all directions, trying to reach a ship to evacuate the station. The Emperor ordered the guards to escort them, while Mara walked in front to open the way. Once in the turbolift cabin leading to the hangar bay, he finally inquired about her presence on the Death Star.

"Now tell me, my child, why did you come here? I told you to go back to Coruscant."

"I had a vision, my Lord, I saw Vader betray and kill you. I came to save you."

"I can't blame you for that. You impressed me today, Mara Jade."

"Thank you, master, it was only my duty."

They arrived in the hangar bay where the cargo ship was waiting for them, its engines still on and ready for immediate takeoff. Just before boarding, the Emperor called the commander of the station.

"Moff Jerjerrod, I ordered you to destroy the sanctuary moon if the energy field was deactivated!"

"Unfortunately, Your Majesty, the station is not yet in position to fire on the moon, and will not be for another ten minutes. I fear that the rebels could destroy the main reactor by then. I have already ordered the evacuation of all non-essential staff and I advise you to leave as soon as possible. I'll keep my position no matter what."

"I have no doubt about that, commander."

With these words, he put an end to the communication and boarded the ship. Mara moved to the controls and they left the doomed station. Outside, the space battle also seemed to turn in favor of the Rebel Alliance. They saw the Super Star Destroyer _Executor_ , Vader's flagship, crashing on the surface of the Death Star after the destruction of her command bridge. Mara followed the evacuation directions transmitted on imperial emergency frequencies. It would allow her to leave the zone of influence of the Interdictor cruisers' gravity well projectors that were stationed on the periphery of the battlefield and thus to jump into hyperspace.

"Head to Coruscant, my child," said the Emperor, "let's leave this fiasco behind us."

* * *

Luke was still paralyzed by the Emperor's Force lightning when he saw a young redhead armed with a red-purple lightsaber emerge from the other side of the core shaft and challenge Vader. The latter ignored her and she then called on the Force to catch the Emperor and take him to the catwalk by her side while Vader collapsed at the edge of the pit. The young woman approached, her saber lit, with the clear intention to finish both Skywalkers. Luke began to concentrate to bring back his own lightsaber he had previously thrown to the ground when the young woman suddenly looked away towards the viewport. He also understood what was going on: Han and Leia had succeeded in destroying the security field generator and the rebel ships led by Lando aboard the _Millennium Falcon_ had begun their attack on the station. He remained motionless as the mysterious young woman exhorted the Emperor to leave as soon as possible.

Luke then remembered that he had already seen this ample red hair and that magenta blade before. It was almost four years ago, a few months after the battle of Yavin, during a mission on Poln Major on the edge of the Unknown Territories. He had then helped an Imperial agent to free the wife and daughter of the sector governor who had been abducted by a warlord from the Unknown Regions. He had not seen the face of the red-haired woman and did not know her name, but he was impressed by the dexterity with which she wielded her magenta blade, deflecting the kidnappers' shots while running on a platform suspended above the ground. He had no doubt that she was the same person.

When the Emperor and his young agent had left the room, Luke recovered his lightsaber and went to the rescue of his father who had fallen to the ground. He was still alive but seemed to breathe with great difficulty.

"Father, come! We have to leave as quickly as we can."

"No, Luke, ... save yourself... it's... too late... for me," he replied with difficulty.

"No father, you come with me."

Luke helped his father get up and walk towards the exit of the room.

"We have to find a ship to leave this station before it is destroyed, can you guide me?"

"Yes... my shuttle... is in hangar bay... two hundred and seventy three... It's not... far away."

They also left the throne room by the tower's turbolift. At its base, they arrived in a corridor crowded by staff trying to reach evacuation points.

"The turbolift... three hundred meters on the right," said Vader.

Although wounded and helped to walk by an unknown young man, the Sith Lord still inspired enough fear and respect to give them way without asking questions. They reached the turbolift without trouble.

"Father," asked Luke, "this young woman who came to rescue the Emperor, who is she?"

"Her name... is Mara Jade, but... she is better known as... the Emperor's Hand."

"Is she like you were? A slave of the Dark Side?"

"She's not a Sith... not yet. But she's strong... and ambitious... You should not... underestimate her, Luke. The Emperor will surely... offer her... to take my place... as his new apprentice."

They arrived in the hangar where an imperial lambda-class shuttle was waiting. As they reached the ramp, Vader collapsed again.

"Luke," he said, "help me... take this mask... off!"

"But you'll die!"

"Nothing... can stop that... now. Just once... let me... look on you with... my own eyes."

Luke removed the triangular helmet, then the face mask. He heard the sound of release of the pressurized oxygen that had been feeding the burned lungs of Anakin Skywalker for so long. He then saw for the first time the face of his father. His bald skull bore many burn scars. His dark circled and sad eyes stared at him, eyes that bore no more trace of hatred. Luke felt his own eyes fill with tears.

"Now go... my son... leave me."

"No father, I've got to save you!"

"You... already have, Luke! You were right... about me. Tell... your sister... you were right."

He then sighed a last time and his head fell to the ground. Anakin Skywalker – Darth Vader – had just become one with the Force. As Luke pulled his body inside the shuttle, the Death Star suddenly began to shake violently. He realized that his friends had just destroyed the main reactor. He rushed to the shuttle controls and took off as flames began to invade the docking bay. He moved away from the station as fast as possible before it exploded in a burst of incandescent plasma.

* * *

 _Note_ _:_ _The meeting on Poln Major between Luke and Mara mentioned in this chapter takes place in Timothy Zahn's Novel **Choices of One**._


	3. Chapter 3: Rise, Lady Claria

_**Mara receives her Sith baptism, becoming Darth Claria, while Luke goes back to his friends on Endor.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Rise, Lady Claria**

 _Mara Jade's cargo ship, on the way back to Coruscant_

Mara Jade's ship had just jumped into hyperspace towards Coruscant when she felt a disturbance in the Force. She understood that Lord Vader had just died and that the Death Star had been destroyed.

"It's over, I think," she said to the Emperor.

"No, not quite," he replied, "Anakin Skywalker died but his son managed to leave the station before it exploded."

"How could that be? He was seriously injured, he could not reach a ship so fast!"

"Do not underestimate him, my child, he's a Jedi knight at present, a powerful enemy. But we also know his main weakness now, his sister!"

"We know he's got a sister, but we don't know who she is."

"He knows her well, her feelings for her are strong, she was part of the team that destroyed the field generator on the moon of Endor."

"Princess Leia Organa?"

"Without any doubt. Bail and Breha Organa could not have children, so they adopted a young orphan girl at the end of the clone wars. But they carefully hid that she was the daughter of Anakin Skywalker! Their treason is all the greater."

"So our priority will be to capture her."

"Everything in its time, we must first deal with the consequences of this very inopportune defeat. Let's go into the living room, will you?"

They left the cockpit at the good care of the autopilot, to join the lounge where K3 awaited them.

"Your Majesty, mistress Jade," he greeted them.

"Droid," said the Emperor, "have a cabin prepared for me so I may rest before our arrival on Coruscant. And leave us alone!"

"At your orders, Your Majesty," he replied, before disappearing.

"Now, my child, tell me in what circumstances you had this vision."

"After my mission on Svivren, I returned to Coruscant as you had ordered me, my Lord. And I tried to relax, but something made me more and more uncomfortable. According to holonews and police reports, the criminal activities of the Black Nebula did not appear to be disturbed by the death of Dequc, so I began to fear that I was deceived by a decoy and started to meditate in order to be clear. But the Force showed me nothing in connection with the Black Nebula; it showed me the Death Star, Vader's betrayal and your death."

"And then you came here to prevent this vision from coming true."

"Yes, my Lord."

"Good, very good," said the Emperor, rising. "Now, tell me, do you feel ready to take your place at my side, no longer as the Emperor's Hand, but as Darth Sidious' new Sith apprentice?"

He had just revealed his own Sith name to her for the first time. Mara stood up in turn and knelt before him.

"Yes, Lord Sidious, I'm ready to follow the ways of the Sith."

"Wonderful, you have shown today a great foresight and a great mastery of the Force, I see you become a powerful Sith. Henceforth, you will cease to be Mara Jade and answer to the name of Darth... Claria!"

"Thank you, my master, it's a very judicious choice."

"Yes, you were already known to some people at court as Countess Claria, so your new identity will not attract too much attention. Now, rise, Lady Claria!"

"One last thing, master. Would you like me to continue my previous mission and get rid of Dequc for good this time?"

"No, my young apprentice, the Black Nebula is no longer a priority for now. If it became necessary, another of my Hands could take care of Dequc."

At these words, Claria rose suddenly, an expression of deep stupefaction on her face.

"Another Hand? What do you mean by that ? You always told me I was the only one!"

"I lied to you, my dear, for the sake of efficiency. Each of my Hands thinks to be unique and therefore serves me all the better. Yet you are the one I am most proud of."

"Who are these other Hands?"

"My newest recruit is this young cyborg you saw with Vader three months ago, Lumiya. She's one of his pupils who was seriously injured during a Rebel Alliance infiltration mission. Only the Dark Side of the Force allowed her to survive. We will have to make sure of her loyalty now that her master is dead. Otherwise, there's Maarek Stele, whom you must have heard of."

"Yes, Stele and Thrawn defeated the coup attempt of Grand Admiral Zaarin; I met him at the reception organized for the promotion of Thrawn to the rank of Grand Admiral. Who else?"

"Sarcev Quest, one of my longtime servants whom you may have already seen at court, a great lover of pretty women."

"Yeah, I see..."

"And of course, Roganda Ismaren."

At the evocation of the ancient Imperial concubine, Claria let out her anger.

"What? Roganda? That slut that shared your bed, now sleeps with everyone at court and has even let falsely believe that her bastard son would be yours? How can you trust such a whore?"

"A slut can also be useful, my dear. It's not to you that I'm going to ask to collect pillow talks. Roganda does that very well, with both men and women," added Palpatine with a naughty tone.

"That, I'm ready to believe."

During the last celebrations of Empire Day, Roganda had made sexual advances to her, probably thinking she had drunk too much. She had made her swallow her insolence by somewhat upsetting her breathing. Roganda was perhaps a professional courtesan, but her mastery of the Force was that of an amateur. It was clear that she had been sent by that harpy, director Isard. Mara having previously spurned her best male charming agents, she had tried her luck with a woman.

"Yes, I feel that these revelations stir your anger and hatred, Lady Claria," replied the Emperor, obviously satisfied with her reaction. "Remember well that it is through your anger and hatred, even directed against me, that the power of the Dark Side will grow within you. Now I will take leave and retire to my quarters. We will see us again on our arrival on Coruscant."

Palpatine withdrew into the quarters that K3 had prepared for him while Claria rejoined her own cabin. She also felt tired now and needed to sleep a few hours. She thought back to what had just happened in the lounge. The Emperor had always had a paternal attitude towards her, and she had always considered him a good and wise old man, even though he tended to be a little paranoid. Of course, the destruction of Alderaan four years ago had disturbed her somewhat, she had trouble believing that the whole population had joined the rebellion and deserved to be exterminated. But the order had been given by the late Grand Moff Tarkin, on his own authority. And he had not been particularly known for his subtlety. But this time the Emperor had just shown himself under another guise, cruel and manipulative. A guise she had not wanted to see until now. And he had deliberately lied to her for all these years. But was it so amazing? After all, it was that too, the ways of the Sith. She'll have to get used to it.

* * *

 _Ewok village, forest moon of Endor_

Having narrowly escaped the explosion of the Death Star, Luke landed Vader's shuttle near the Ewok village. His body still ached from the Emperor's lightning bolts and he had to call upon the Force to soothe the pain. He was both sad at not being able to save his father's life and happy to meet his friends, Han, Leia, Lando and Chewbacca as well as the droids R2-D2 and C-3PO again. He also wondered how they would react when he will reveal the truth about Vader, for the moment only Leia knew.

"Master Luke, what a pleasure to see you in one piece," welcomed him 3PO.

"Luke!" said Leia, throwing herself at his neck, "I knew you weren't on this station when it exploded!"

"Glad to see you again Luke," Lando greeted him. "The rest of the Imperial fleet left in hyperspace after the Death Star was destroyed, and the last troops on the ground fled or surrendered. For now, we are in control of the situation."

"Hey kid, what's that story," said Han, "you and Leia are brother and sister now?"

"Yes, I only learned it recently," replied Luke. "Ben Kenobi and Master Yoda have separated us from birth to protect us. But that's not all, our father was the former Jedi Anakin Skywalker, but he is now known under another name: Darth Vader."

Han, Chewbacca and Lando stood stunned for a moment before fully understanding what Luke had just told them.

"By the nine hells of Corellia," swore Han, "you mean that Vader is your father? How long have you known?"

"He told me during our confrontation on Bespin, after having cut my hand, hoping that I would join him in the Dark Side. At first I did not want to believe it, but Master Yoda confirmed it to me on Dagobah before revealing that I also had a twin sister: Leia."

Chewbacca made some grunts in shyriiwook, the language of the Wookiees.

"As you say Chewie, what a family!" Han translated. "And now my princess is a daughter of a Sith! Where did I stuck myself again!"

"Relax Han," Leia replied. "I'm not going to Force choke you every time you get on my nerves! Not until I learned to do it at least," she added with a mischievous grin.

"Well, buddy," Lando said, "if the journalists knew that, you would make the headlines of the holonews. And what about telling us now how you managed to escape the clutches of the Emperor and your... uh Vader?"

"It was very close, I had overestimated what good remained in Vader. It was only when the Emperor was about to kill me that my father came back. He turned against the Emperor and sacrificed himself to save me."

"So both of them died?" asked Leia.

"No, the Emperor escaped. As my father was about to throw him into the void, a young woman intervened out of nowhere. She and the Emperor ran away while I was recovering."

"Hey, a woman? Was she cute at least?" Lando teased him.

"Rather yes, a pretty redhead with green eyes, if you except of course the lightsaber she nearly killed me with. But your attack on the station convinced her to clear off as quickly as possible. I tried to save my father but he died just as we were getting into the shuttle. I could only bring back his body and I barely escaped the explosion myself."

"Do you have any idea about that girl's identity?" Han asked.

"My father told me that her name was Mara Jade and that she was the Emperor's Hand. I think I met her before, almost four years ago, on Poln Major. I had only seen her from a distance, but she had the same red hair and magenta lightsaber. He also told me that she would surely take his place at the Emperor's side as his new Sith apprentice."

"A red Lady in place of a dark Lord," said Lando, "that will make a drastic change for the Imperial forces and big headlines on coruscanti holonewscasts, I bet."

"I bet we'll get into a lot of trouble again," Han said. "Palpatine who gets away and a new Sith on top of that... I have a bad feeling about this!"

"I'm afraid you're right, Han," Luke replied. "And there's another problem, Leia. The Emperor knows that you're my sister, I wasn't able to conceal it from him. Now they will try to get at you and attract you to the Dark Side. I must start your training as soon as possible, Leia, you must learn to use the Force to resist them."

"It scares me, Luke, I'm afraid not to be strong enough for that."

"Yes, you are. Before dying, our father asked me to tell you that I was right about the good that remained in him. I was sure he wouldn't let me die. And in the same way, I'm sure you're able to learn to master the Force like me."

"I know, Luke, I know."

In the evening, a big party was organized in the Ewok village for the victory of the Rebel Alliance, even if it was somewhat tarnished by the Emperor's survival. Luke had a funeral pyre erected to burn the remains of his father in the Jedi tradition. For a moment, he noticed some familiar ghostly figures smiling at him in the darkness: old Ben Kenobi, master Yoda and a young man who resembled him strangely. It was Anakin Skywalker, his father, as he was before becoming Darth Vader. Luke then remembered his last words on the Death Star. Yes, he had finally managed to save him, he had returned from the Dark Side and joined the Force.

He then began to think of the young woman who had come to the rescue of the Emperor, Mara Jade. The first time he had seen her, on Poln Major, he had been fascinated by her skill with a lightsaber while he had himself received only rudimentary training from Ben Kenobi. This time he could see her face clearly and could not help but notice her beauty. Something in her attracted him and at the same time frightened him. How could a beautiful and intelligent young woman serve a vile and evil being like Emperor Palpatine? Would she become a cold and ruthless Sith like Vader? He felt that their paths would cross again one day, should he then fight her and kill her? Could he also turn her against the Emperor? It would be up to the Force to decide, his destiny had not yet been fulfilled.

* * *

 _Note_ _: The name **Claria** is taken from Timothy Zahn's novel **Allegiance** , where Mara poses as Countess Claria._


	4. Chapter 4: The Dark Lady

_**On Ziost, Lumiya, secret pupil of Vador, feels her master's death in the Force while on Coruscant, Ysanne Isard is relieved to learn that the Emperor survived the defeat at Endor. But Mara's promotion as a Sith Lady is much less to her taste.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 4: The Dark Lady**

 _Abandoned Sith Citadel, Ziost_

More than five thousand years ago, Ziost was the capital planet of the ancient Sith Empire. Now it was nothing but a desolate and forgotten world, covered with dark and snowy forests. Only abandoned ruins and the persistence of the Dark Side testified to its obscure past.

It was in one of those abandoned citadels that Lumiya had settled for a month. She was born Shira Elan Colla Brie on Coruscant shortly after the rise of the Empire and had grown up in an orphanage of the Imperial City. She had never known her parents, not knowing if they had died or had simply abandoned her. They had left her only her name, inscribed on a silver medallion she wore around her neck when she was found, a few weeks old, in a backalley of the Coruscant underworld. As a teen, she had joined the youth training program of the Commission for the Preservation of the New Order – better known as the COMPNOR – the propaganda organ of the Empire. Her brilliant results had attracted the attention of Lord Vader himself who had also felt her Force sensitivity and had recommended her to integrate the Imperial intelligence services. She had followed three years of training at the Coruscanti Pilot Institute and then a year of intensive training at the Imperial Military Academy of Carida, a high gravity planet on which the elite troops of the Empire were formed, with non-negligible casualties. In parallel with the official military training, Shira had undergone a secret training in the Dark Side of the Force provided by Vader himself. At the end of her training, she had graduated with top honors and had integrated the Imperial intelligence services under the direction of Ysanne Isard with the rank of major. Vader had continued to follow her career and had obtained from Isard that she be assigned to him for a special mission of Rebel Alliance infiltration. They had made her a false past of a refugee victim of imperial repression and she was thus able to join the Alliance. Her mission was to approach the young rebel hero Luke Skywalker, to kill him or at least tarnish his reputation.

But something had happened that nobody had foreseen: Shira had fallen in love with Luke, the man she was supposed to kill. Nevertheless, an opportunity to accomplish her mission had arisen: Luke, Shira and two other rebel pilots had to attack an imperial convoy with reconditioned TIE fighters to benefit from the surprise effect. When the Imperials had jammed all communications and there was no way to distinguish between friends and foes, she had chosen to ignore her feelings and to obey her master's orders, preparing to kill the young man she had kissed a few hours before. But she had hesitated too long and Luke, feeling the danger through the Force, had shot first.

Left for dead, she survived nevertheless in the wreck of her adrift fighter by calling to the Force. Found by Vader, she had been cared for on board his flagship, the _Executor_. But she had paid a heavy tribute to the icecold vacuum of space: the beauty of her face, her frozen limbs replaced by cybernetic prostheses, artificial organs implanted in her abdomen to replace those that had ceased to function. She had become a cyborg, half woman, half machine. Her feelings for Luke, which she considered responsible for her mutilations, had turned into a fierce hatred. Vader had resumed her training in the Dark Side, she had made herself a metal armor reminiscent of that of her master and had taken a new identity: that of Lumiya, the dark lady.

Under the Rule of Two, Vader could not have officially made Lumiya his apprentice, so he had presented her to the Emperor at the Imperial Palace so that he would take her into his service as one of his Hands. On this occasion, she had met Mara Jade for the first time and the two women immediately felt animosity towards each other. But Vader had yet secretly instructed her in prohibited teachings: he had given her a holocron to learn the language of the ancient Sith, and then sent her on a pilgrimage to Ziost, their former capital planet. There, in the ruins of an old abandoned citadel, she had found an old Sith scroll containing instructions for the manufacture of a rare and forgotten weapon, a lightwhip composed of both material straps and flexible plasma filaments. Patiently, she had built her weapon with materials found on site: a handle in beskar, the mandalorian iron capable of resisting a lightsaber, leather thongs covered with rings of the same metal for the material parts of the weapon, Kaiburr crystal shards to focus the plasma beams. She had brought her personal touch by adding an intensity dimmer allowing to use the energy filaments either to immobilize a target or to injure it and a device to send an incapacitating electric discharge along the metallic filaments. Once the weapon was finished, she had spent long days practicing it.

Being alone on Ziost, Lumiya had traded her armor and helmet for a simple flightsuit in durasteel fibers which gave her greater freedom of movement. Thus dressed, she seemed almost an ordinary young woman and only the numerous scars on her face testified to her true nature. After another hours long training session, she prepared herself a proteinated energy drink to sustain herself, the internal damage she had suffered no longer allowing her to absorb solid food. As she slowly drank the preparation, she felt a disturbance in the Force that caused her deep discomfort: she knew immediately that her master, Darth Vader, had just died.

"Holy Sith, Nooo!" she cried before collapsing in tears.

Vader had taught her to use the Force, he had torn her out from the freezing embrace of death, had given her the will to continue living. He had even revealed to her certain elements of his past that hardly anyone except the Emperor knew. Lumiya loved her master like a father, she who had never known her parents. Now she was alone again, with no one to confide in. She had only her hatred, for Luke and for those responsible for the death of her master, whoever they may be.

She took a deathstick she lit and brought to her lips. She always kept one or two with her for the moments she really felt too bad. As she inhaled the acrid smoke, a coughing fit caught her between two sobs. Quickly, a soft heat pervaded through her body and even seemed to spread to her cybernetic limbs. She knew it was just an illusion due to the drug, but for one or two hours she could forget her mutilations and become Shira Brie again. The artificial kidney that was part of her cybernetic girdle and the Force then allowed her to quickly eliminate the drug's residues and avoid the noxious long-term effects.

Once she had fully recovered her senses, Lumiya decided to put an end to her stay on Ziost. She had now acquired sufficient control of her whip to be able to use it efficiently against an opponent. It was time for her to return to Coruscant and reclaim her master's legacy.

* * *

 _Imperial City, Coruscant_

Standing in front of the transparisteel bay of his office in the Imperial Palace, Grand Vizier Sate Pestage observed the air traffic of the capital planet in the early afternoon. Pestage was a bald man of about eighty years who wore the long purple robe and the characteristic headdress of the high-ranking imperial dignitaries. Although he was himself blind to the Force, Pestage was a long-time collaborator of the Sith, initially working for the Muun businessman Hego Damask, actually the Sith Lord Darth Plagueis, and for his apprentice Darth Sidious, officially senator Sheev Palpatine of Naboo. When Palpatine had assassinated his master, on the very eve of his election to the position of Supreme Chancellor, he had become one of the chief advisors to the new Chief of State and had retained this position during the early years of the Empire. He had finally been promoted to the position of Grand Vizier, replacing the Chagrian Mas Amedda who had been demoted because of the Empire's human supremacism. This position made him the direct assistant of the Emperor and the head of government and when His Imperial Majesty was absent as at this moment, he actually found himself in command of the Galaxy.

A bell rang and the Imperial Guard posted at the door announced the arrival of the person he was waiting for.

"Your Excellency, Director Isard has arrived."

"Good, let her in," he replied.

Ysanne Isard entered the office. She was wearing her usual Director of Intelligence red uniform and her mismatched eyes, blue on the right, red on the left – a rare genetic anomaly from birth – stared at him anxiously. This gave her a certain charm, enhanced by the two white strands that framed her face and the rest of her black hair falling on her shoulders. At thirty-five, she was of a cold beauty, known throughout the Empire for her cruelty, her thirst for power, her total lack of compassion and her unwavering loyalty to the Emperor. She had conspired against her own father to take his place at the head of the intelligence services, and the rumor even said that she had him executed by her own hands. It was also said that she was the Emperor's mistress and her numerous enemies, both within the Empire and the Rebellion, had given her the nickname of Iceheart.

"You wanted to talk to me, your Excellency?" she asked.

"Yes, Ysanne, I would like to discuss with you the situation after the regrettable events around Endor and the rumors that circulated about the Emperor's death."

"Incidentally, the cell of rebel agitators who spread this rumor and shot fireworks on the _Pliada di am Imperium_ was put out of action for good. Similar unrest occurred on Naboo but our garrison there has the situation under control. Things are more confused in the Outer Rim where some worlds could fall under rebel control."

"I have in any case appreciated how efficiently your troops managed the situation here on Coruscant. And what do you know about the events at Endor?"

"Unfortunately, all my informations confirm a rebel victory. Captain Pellaeon of the Star Destroyer _Chimæra_ gave us his report after ordering retreat. He confirms the destruction of the second Death Star, the Super Star Destroyer _Executor_ as well as six Star Destroyers including the _Devastator_ and the _Vehement_. Senior officers and dignitaries present on the destroyed station or Star Destroyers are presumed dead, including Grand Admirals Declann, Teshik, Takel and Makati, Admiral Piett, Rear Admiral Chiraneau, Moff Jerjerrod and advisors Greejatus, Aloo and Blista-Vanee. We know from survivors that the rebel Luke Skywalker was captured and led by Lord Vader before the Emperor on the station. I also know that the Emperor's Hand, leaving Coruscant in a hurry, arrived on the station shortly before the rebel attack. Surviving witnesses say they saw the Emperor trying to leave the station with Jade shortly before its destruction, but I have no confirmation and I remain very worried. It is also said that Grand Admirals Takel and Makati might have escaped. As for Lord Vader, he also seems to have perished on board the station."

"I can at least reassure you on one point, my dear. Our Emperor is alive and well, He contacted me less than an hour ago and told me that Darth Vader was dead, killed by Luke Skywalker. He is currently on a ship en route to Coruscant with his new right hand, Darth Claria."

"Darth Claria? You don't want to say that–"

"Indeed, it seems that our dear Mara Jade, also known as Countess Claria, has benefited from a promotion following Vader's death and has taken his place at the Emperor's side. She now enjoys all the titles, privileges and possessions of the late Lord Vader and in particular the title of Sith Lady."

Ysanne bit her lip out of dismay. She was certainly relieved to know her Emperor alive but the promotion of that little intriguer Jade to the rank of Sith Lady remained stuck across her throat. She had never understood the Emperor's confidence in this woman whose past was totally unknown to her intelligence services.

"Do you know anything about our ex-Emperor's Hand that I would ignore?" she asked again.

"I know very little indeed, except that she is a Force adept like the Emperor and Vader and that He began to train her to his service when she was very young. Everything indicates that she's totally loyal to Him."

"As I am."

"But you are blind to the Force, aren't you Ysanne? And on the other hand, you are intelligent enough to have understood for a long time that the Emperor is also the master of the Sith and that He therefore needs an apprentice strong in the Force at his side."

"Yes, I'm aware of the Rule of Two."

"So, I urge you not to try to oppose Lady Claria, this could cost you dearly. As for me, I will make an official statement to the press that will be broadcast on the galactic holonet. I will deny the rumors propagated by the Rebellion about the Emperor's death and announce his upcoming return on Coruscant. I will minimize the defeat at Endor and announce our next victorious counterstrike. Finally, I will declare that Lord Vader was killed by the rebel Jedi Luke Skywalker and that the Emperor appointed Countess Claria to replace him at his side. You are now dismissed, Director Isard."

"Very well, your Excellency."

Ysanne left the Grand Vizier's office thinking about what she was going to do. She was certainly not going to challenge Claria's authority upfront, but she could perhaps let some revelations about her leak towards the tabloids and thus undermine her authority. Yes, that was an option worth to consider.

* * *

 _Notes : The character of Shira Brie | Lumiya was introduced in the Marvel **Classic Star Wars** comics and was later reused in the series of novels **Legacy of the Force**. Her feelings for Vader, whom she sees as a surrogate father, are taken from an article by Abel G. Peña, **The Emperor's Pawns** , published in Star Wars Gamer #5._  
 _The dialogue between Pestage and Isard and the hatred that she feels for Mara Jade are inspired by a similar scene of the comic **By the Emperor's Hand**. _


	5. Chapter 5: Duel

_**Claria, back on Coruscant, will have to face her first test: her rival Lumiya, determined to take her place.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 5: Duel**

On their return to Coruscant, Emperor Palpatine and Lady Claria were received in great pomp by the court and the Imperial dignitaries. Claria had exchanged her black suit for a more appropriate outfit, a dark red dress with a matching hood and cape, and she had tied her hair into a bun. Grand Vizier Pestage made a new statement to the press explaining that a group of rebel terrorists led by the Jedi Luke Skywalker had attempted to assassinate the Emperor and Lord Vader aboard an orbiting space station in the Endor system. Countess Claria had heard of the plot, and had gone to warn the Emperor. They had managed to escape before the terrorists blew up the station while Lord Vader had lost his life fighting Luke Skywalker to protect their escape. In gratitude for this act of bravery and devotion, the Emperor had appointed Countess Claria as Lady Protector of the Empire and conferred upon her all the titles and privileges of Lord Vader. Darth Claria herself made a short statement explaining how much she was honored by the Emperor's confidence in her and that she would henceforth endeavor to ensure the protection and security of the Empire's citizens.

An immense crowd was assembled on the esplanade outside the palace and all along the great interior corridor, greeting them with the shouts of "Hail Lady Claria!", "Long live our Emperor!". She felt proud to be so acclaimed, even though she knew deep inside herself that a good part of the present crowd had not gathered spontaneously but had been herded by the COMPNOR. The presence of the security forces had been reinforced but without excess and neither she nor the Emperor had felt any hostile presence that could constitute a threat. It was clear that the rebel sympathizers, hunted relentlessly, preferred to make themselves discreet.

In the evening, a reception was organized in one of the many halls of the palace for the dignitaries and the court. Ysanne Isard did not address a word or a glance at Claria of the evening, bustling with the Emperor to take stock of the losses and brag about her effectiveness in dismantling the infiltrated rebel cell that had spread the false news of his death. On the other hand, Roganda Ismaren came to congratulate her warmly for her new title and offer her services. One could add to the list of her talents that of turning quickly with the wind. General Deerian, an old gentleman and friend whom she had met on a mission four years ago and now one of the planetary defense managers, also congratulated her and even invited her to dance. Curiously, none of the smoothies who usually bothered her during this kind of reception tried his luck with her that night. They might have been too impressed with her new title as Lady Protector of the Empire, even though few people knew that it actually hid that of Sith Lady. Once the guests began to leave the evening, she went to salute the Emperor and then retired to her private quarters.

* * *

Lumiya arrived on Coruscant in the early evening. She landed her ship in an area of industrial wasteland where Vader had arranged her a discreet hideout. There, she turned on the holographic receiver to keep herself informed of the latest events. The HNE evening newscast picked up the official statement made by the Grand Vizier a few hours before and the few words said by Darth Claria to thank the Emperor. Hearing that, she felt herself filled with hatred: so not only had Luke Skywalker killed her master, but the Emperor had also chosen that Mara Jade bitch to replace him at his side. This position was hers by right and, by all the Sith, she would take back what was due to her.

Turning off the receiver, she put on her armor and helmet and headed by speeder bike to the Palace. Her Emperor's Hand quality allowed her to safely pass security checks, but instead of joining the reception rooms, she went to the upper floors and private apartments. Vader had provided her with detailed plans of the Palace and she knew where to find Mara Jade's private quarters. Arrived on the right floor, she used the Force to divert the attention of the guards and reached the door of her rival's apartments. Her training as a secret agent allowed her to deactivate the security systems and open the door without being spotted. She entered, closed the door and hid herself in a dark corner, waiting.

* * *

As soon as she passed through the door of her apartments, Claria felt that something was wrong. She instinctively took the lightsaber attached to her belt, activated it and guided by the Force, diverted two blaster bolts aimed at her. She used the Force to turn on the light and close the door behind her and then saw her attacker coming out of the shadows: it was a cyborg woman in armor wearing a triangular helmet that completely hid her face. Blasters – still smoking – were incorporated into her armor at the forearm. At her belt hung a kind of metal whip. She recognized Lumiya, the pupil of Vader she had met a few months earlier, when she had offered her services to the Emperor.

"Lumiya, what the Sith gives you the right to attack me in my quarters?" she asked.

"The right to take back what belongs to me, Jade. I am Vader's pupil, his place alongside the Emperor is mine!" she answered, taking her whip.

"Do you really think the Emperor would want a pupil of Vader as new apprentice after the latter betrayed him?"

"Betrayed? He was killed by Luke Skywalker while protecting the Emperor!"

"Come now, don't tell me you're taking official propaganda for granted, my dear! Do you want me to tell you what really happened? He tried to kill the Emperor, to protect his son, Luke Skywalker."

"No, this can't be true!"

"He didn't tell you that he had a son? And that's not all, he also had a daughter, who is none other than Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan."

"You're lying, you kriffin' bitch!"

"Call upon the Force, Lumiya, you'll know I'm telling the truth."

"I'm rather gonna kill you!"

With these words, she uncoiled and activated her lightwhip. In a crackling noise, the plasma filaments spread around the metal-lined strips. She slashed at her, but Claria dodged and hit one of the metallic thongs with her blade. To her surprise, the blow slid on the metal in a shower of sparks but did not cut the thong. "Beskar," she said to herself, "this will complicate things."

She tried to get closer to Lumiya, in order to be able to hit her with her blade or kick her while countering the lashes, but the flexible energy filaments tended to wrap around the blade of her lightsaber and she had to turn it off briefly to release it. A good blaster would have been useful but she had not taken one with her. She jumped forward to try to get closer but as she was receiving herself, the sharp end of a metal filament deeply cut into her right arm below the shoulder. Letting out a cry of pain, she dropped her weapon and the blood began to flow abundantly from the wound. She tried to recall her weapon with her left hand but her opponent had already recovered it. She felt suddenly dizzy due to bleeding and fell to her knees.

"Is that all you can do, Darth Claria? You're such a pitiful Sith! Prepare to die!"

Aware that the next blow was going to cut her throat, Claria abandoned herself to the Dark Side, letting herself be overrun by anger and hatred. She focused on the acute pain in her right arm and transferred it through her left arm to the tips of her fingers. As Lumiya raised her whip to throw a fatal blow, she pointed her hand at her opponent and, in a cry of rage, poured out all her hatred. Blue lightning shot from her fingertips and struck Lumiya in the chest. Tetanized, she let go of her whip and Claria's lightsaber and fell to the ground, screaming in pain. Claria stood up, continuing to throw Force lightning at Lumiya. She enjoyed feeling the obscure energy flow through her body and seeing her rival suffer. But her right arm wound continued to bleed profusely, the artery of the arm was obviously hit. She thus stopped the Force lightning, recalled her lightsaber in her valid hand and concentrated to clasp her arm with the Force to stop the bleeding. She lit her blade again and pointed it at Lumiya's throat.

"So, who's about to die now?"

Not wanting to kill a faceless opponent, Claria removed Lumiya's helmet with the Force. What she saw then made her hesitate. Lumiya's face was that of a young woman about the same age as herself. Her brown-red hair came to her shoulders, and her gray-green eyes stared at her full of hate. Her face was covered with scars and distorted by pain but still testified to her past beauty.

"What are you waiting for?" she said to her. "Kill me! Finish what Luke Skywalker started!"

The hatred she pronounced the name of Luke Skywalker with intrigued Claria. Lumiya seemed to consider him responsible for her condition, but Claria also felt that there was something else: before hating him so strongly, she had loved him.

While Claria was still holding her lightsaber ten centimeters from Lumiya's neck, hesitating to kill her, someone rang at the door. It was the floor security team.

"Is everything all right, my Lady? We heard shots and screams!"

Claria opened the door and two stormtroopers entered. The sergeant immediately noticed her pale face and the abundant traces of blood on her right arm and on the ground.

"You are seriously wounded, my Lady, I am going to accompany you to the medcenter."

"No thanks, sergeant, it's okay, you'd rather take this cyborg woman in custody, I'll decide her fate later. Her cybernetic prostheses are temporarily deactivated but she's Force sensitive, so take the appropriate precautions."

"All right, my Lady, as you wish, but you should get this ugly wound treated quickly."

The sergeant took a control collar from his belt and passed it around Lumiya's neck. When he activated it, she lost consciousness immediately. The two guards took her by the shoulders and carried her away.

Claria turned off her lightsaber and put it back on her belt. She also took Lumiya's whip and went to the medcenter for treatment. But she had scarcely walked fifty meters when she felt dizzy again and had to lean against the wall. "Come on girl," she said to herself, "it's not the time to pass out! It would be a very sad end for a Sith Lady, bleeding to death at fifty meters from her apartments." She strengthened her concentration to raise her blood pressure and resumed her way.

She arrived at the medcenter a few minutes later where a medical droid took care of her. He immediately injected her a stimulant and a pain killer then helped her to remove her dress and made her lie down. He put a force-field tourniquet on her shoulder and activated it. She felt like her arm had ceased to exist when the device blocked both the blood circulation and the nerve impulse and she then sighed in relief, releasing the pressure she had maintained for several minutes on the artery through the Force. Another droid placed a synthblood drip on her left arm while the first inspected the wound.

"The artery, muscles and nerves were severed, my Lady," said the droid. "And you've lost a lot of blood, you're lucky to have arrived here alive!"

"Try to fix this, will you?"

"Certainly, my Lady, I'm here for that."

While the droid was busy, placing synthetic bio-compatible links on the artery, nerves and muscles, Claria pondered on what had just happened. Yes, she had been very lucky. Lumiya had surprised her with her weapon combining matter and energy, a combination she had not been trained to face. Despite her mastery of the lightsaber, she was quickly overwhelmed; she would have needed a second lightsaber or a blaster to be able to defend herself effectively. Wounded, enraged by the contempt Lumiya had expressed, and confronted with the imminence of a fatal issue, she had for the first time opened herself wholly to the Dark Side of the Force, she had let her anger invade and guide her, giving her the means to defend herself and defeat her opponent with an emblematic power of the Dark Side. A power her master had not taught her but which she had invoked instinctively, allowing herself to be guided by her intuition. At the beginning of this confrontation, she was still Mara Jade, but in the end she had truly become Darth Claria, a Sith Lady, and she felt proud to have passed this test.

But there was also something that worried her: she had enjoyed seeing Lumiya writhe in pain as she bombarded her with Force lightning and this didn't look like her. She had always tried to kill quickly and well when necessary, without undue suffering. She realized that this was the other side of the coin: the power of the Dark Side was exhilarating and could corrupt her, leading her to commit evil or dangerous actions. It was now evident to her that her master had also enjoyed making the young Skywalker suffer on the Death Star and that it could have cost him his life. While busy torturing the son, he had ignored the father who had turned against him. She also began to wonder to what extent her master had been corrupted by the Dark Side, was he really as good and wise as she had hitherto believed? Obviously no, he had always lied to her by hiding the existence of other Hands and she had seen him enjoying torture. But he was her master and she had to obey him. She just hoped it would not be inevitable for her to become like him or Vader. At least her anger had calmed down when she saw Lumiya's face, that of a young woman who finally looked like her. She was right not to kill her immediately in the grip of anger and to put her fate at a later time when her judgment would be clearer.

Once the medical droid had completed the procedure, he closed the wound with a bacta dressing and deactivated the tourniquet. Claria felt her arm again.

"Here, my Lady, it's over, you'll have to keep the arm immobilized one to two weeks for everything to heal."

"Thanks, but a few days will be enough, I'm healing very quickly."

"And I would very much like to keep you here for the night. I'll find you a room."

Claria felt literally exhausted and accepted the proposal of the medical droid. She picked up her dress and weapons with her valid arm and followed the droid. She laid down in bed and quickly sank into a deep sleep.

* * *

Ysanne Isard had just taken a sanisteam and put on her nightgown. This day had been particularly tough: she had to put up with this little Claria bitch prancing in front of the journalists and the court when she didn't even get public thanks for restoring order and dismantling the infiltrated rebel cell. She couldn't wait for a good night's sleep to forget this humiliation. But as she went to bed, her comlink rang, it was a call from agent Ivak of her intelligence services. She replied.

"Director Isard. I hope you have a good reason to disturb me at such a late hour, Ivak!"

"I'm in the detention block, Madam Director, two security guards brought us the cyborg Lumiya for us to keep in custody. She apparently had a small altercation with Darth Claria."

"In what condition is she?"

"She's kept unconscious by a control collar, so she can't play us a witch trick with the Force. According to the sergeant who brought her, Claria was seriously wounded and went to the medcenter. I called them to confirm. She was actually given a room for the night."

"Anything else?"

"This is where you'll be interested: we followed the usual arrest procedures and retrieved her DNA profile. Would you believe it? It corresponds perfectly with that of Major Shira Brie, declared killed in action six months ago."

"Yes, very interesting indeed. Keep her in custody for the night, I will come to interrogate her tomorrow morning."

"At your orders, Madam Director, and good night."

She cut off the communication and mulled over what she had just learned. So, Vader had lied in asserting Major Brie had died during her Rebel Alliance infiltration mission. She had obviously been seriously injured but had survived. And Vader had hidden her to make her his secret apprentice under the name of Lumiya. For what purpose? She would have to find out as soon as possible.

* * *

 _Notes_ _: HNE – Holonet News & Entertainment – is the main galactic holochannel._  
 _Mara Jade met General Deerian in Timothy Zahn's novel **Allegiance**._


	6. Chapter 6: From Shira Brie to Lumiya

_**Many thanks to the guest reader who submitted a review on the last chapter. Remember reviews are like sunshine to the authors.**_

 _ **Next chapter is a flashback six months ago during the battle of the secret armada where Shira Brie hesitates between her feelings and her duty. Left for dead, she is saved by Darth Vader who oversees her cybernetic rehabilitation and gives her a new name: Lumiya.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 6: From Shira Brie to Lumiya**

 _A few parsecs from the Sullust system, six months ago_

Shira was cold, so cold. Was this what death was like? A few hours earlier, she had left with three other rebel pilots, Luke, Thorben and Alph, for a mission that some considered suicidal. On board four Imperial TIE fighters, stolen and reconditioned, they attacked by surprise the Imperial armada of Admiral Giel, which was transporting to Coruscant a strange creature, the Teezl, capable of sending instantaneous hyperspatial messages throughout the Galaxy. Such a communication medium would have given the Empire a significant advantage and its destruction was therefore a priority for the Rebel Alliance. Before departure, Shira had confessed her feelings to Luke and had kissed him passionately. But while she was persuaded that Luke shared her feelings, the way he had reacted, sheepish and relatively indifferent, had surprised and disappointed her, although she did not let it appear.

In fact, Shira was not a real rebel pilot, she was an infiltrated imperial spy and a Dark Side adept, chosen by Darth Vader in person to destroy his sworn enemy, Luke Skywalker, the young man she had fallen in love with. She had taken an oath of allegiance to the Empire and for her, it counted more than anything, including her own feelings now that she felt rejected. So, when Admiral Giel activated the Teezl to jam all the communication frequencies and there was no longer any way to distinguish friends from foes, she seized her chance to carry out her mission. She located Luke's fighter through the Force and prepared to open fire. But her feelings made her hesitate too long, Luke shot first.

The green laser beams hit her fighter on both sides of the cabin, causing its depressurization. The retention field integrated in her flightsuit was triggered automatically, but this gave her only a few minutes of oxygen at most. Certain of her imminent death, Shira called upon the Force to slow down her metabolism and send a final message to her master: "Forgive me, my Lord, I have failed." A debris struck her violently in the head and everything turned black.

But Shira was not to die that day. She had managed to get into a trance before losing consciousness, reducing her breathing and heartbeat to the extreme. She had thus preserved her vital organs by abandoning her limbs to frost bite. Lord Vader had also heard her calling and he ordered Admiral Piett to divert his flagship, the Super Star Destroyer _Executor_ , to the battle place. There they found her half-frozen body in the wreck of her adrift fighter. To every untrained eye, she would have appeared dead, but Vader felt that there was still a spark of life in her bruised body. Prisoner of the frozen embrace that dragged her ever further from the world of the living, she heard his voice resonate in her mind: "Hold on Shira! Live, my young pupil!"

She was taken to the _Executor's_ Medical Center. There, the medical droids warmed her body slowly before extracting her from her flightsuit and plunging her body into a bacta tank. When she regained consciousness, she no longer felt her limbs and the rest of her body was nothing but pain. In the tank, a tube fed her with oxygen while others penetrated into her chest, connected to her bloodstream. She tried to move her head but felt such an intense pain she almost fainted again. She sensed Vader's presence in front of the tank, talking with the chief medical droid. She extended her consciousness towards him through the Force to hear what they were saying.

"How is she?" asked Vader.

"We have stabilized her condition, my Lord, but we must operate as quickly as possible," the droid replied. "Her limbs have irreversibly frozen and amputation is inevitable. She has many fractures in her face and we will have to replace the broken bones, especially the lower jaw, with metallic implants. Finally, she received shrapnel in the abdomen and several of her internal organs, including kidneys, are severely damaged. We will have to permanently implant a cybernetic girdle to replace them and keep her alive."

"Do your best. And for her limbs, give her synthskin prosthetics. I don't want her to be more like a droid than a woman."

"Very well, my Lord, we will start the surgery quickly."

The medical droid pressed a button next to the tank and a powerful anesthetic spread into her bloodstream. Again, everything went black.

When she awoke, she was lying naked on a hospital bed. Not quite naked in fact: a metallic girdle enclosed the bottom of her chest, from below her breasts down to her waist. Two droids surrounded her, busy making adjustments on her arms and legs.

"Don't try to move, Major Brie," said one of the droids who noticed she was awake. "We haven't finished calibrating your new limbs."

"How long have I remained unconscious?" she asked.

"Three weeks, Major, we have kept you in artificial coma the time for your body to heal. Lord Vader came to inquire about you every day. I must admit that it's quite unusual for him."

Shira felt strange tingling in her new limbs as the droids calibrated the neural interfaces. From time to time, reflex movements occurred in response to stimulations. Seeing that her gaze remained fixed on the metal girdle, the droid felt compelled to give her explanations.

"This is a cybernetic girdle implanted permanently that replaces some of your defective internal organs, major. It purifies your blood and controls the glucose level. There's also an auxiliary pump which can provide a minimum of blood circulation in case of heart failure even though your heart and lungs have not suffered too much. It is powered by a standard energy cell which is located in a hidden trapdoor at the plexus level."

The droid pressed a few seconds in the middle of the girdle, opening a trapdoor which closed itself back after about thirty seconds.

"It's also perfectly waterproof," resumed the droid, "you can take a sanisteam or a bath without any problem."

"How am I supposed to feed myself now?"

"Your digestive tract has suffered great damage and you will have to make do with liquid foods, mainly proteinated energy drinks. Any attempt to consume solid foods would cause you severe discomfort. Although it's still discouraged, you can consume alcoholic beverages, it won't do you any more harm than before. The cybernetic girdle is even more effective at eliminating alcohol."

"It's reassuring to know that I can still get drunk. And what about my... intimate parts?"

"If you're talking about your sexual organs, they're intact except for the uterus that we had to remove. So you can always theoretically have sex, but unfortunately you won't be able to breed anymore, I'm sorry."

Shira remained thoughtful for a moment. She had never asked herself to one day have children. Would she have liked to have children with Luke if she hadn't had to end their relationship so abruptly? Now it was too late.

"Here, we have finished the tuning of your limbs," said the droid closing the access hatches, "you can try to move."

She raised her right arm and began to play the fingers of her hand. Her movements were still a little jerky but the prostheses seemed to answer correctly.

"We've prepared underwear for you, Major," said the medical droid, "do you want help with dressing?"

"No thank you, I'll try to manage on my own."

"We will leave you then, you can always call us in case of need."

The two droids left her alone in the room. She examined the underwear that had been brought to her: It was a panties and a shirt of standard model for women serving in the Imperial fleet. It took her much more time than she expected to put them on, her movements were still inaccurate. She was relieved to find that the transition between her human skin and her synthskin prosthetics was almost imperceptible to the eye, while the sensors in her fingers easily felt the difference in texture and warmth.

She then tried to get up and take a few steps. The contact of her feet with the ground gave her a strange sensation: she felt the ground, but could not tell if it was smooth or rough, hot or cold. She realized that the sensors under her feet were by no means as precise as those of her hands, she would probably no longer enjoy walking barefoot in wet grass or on a warm sandy beach. Everything would be just more of the same.

She continued walking slowly across the room. She quickly got used to her new legs, every step seemed easier than the previous one. She noticed a mirror over a sink in a corner of the room and approached to look at her face. Despite all that the medical droid had already told her, she did not expect such a shock. A scar crossed her right eye, but above all, the whole left side of her face, from the temple to the lower jaw, was covered with purplish scars. This was the straw that broke the bantha's back. She was suddenly filled with rage, anger and hatred, against herself and Luke.

"No," she shouted, "Nooo! Luke, you kriffin' bastard! You weren't even able to kill me properly! You'll pay for what you did to me. I hate you! I HATE YOU!"

As she uttered these last words, she pointed her hand at the reflection of her face in the mirror and threw it all her rage. The mirror exploded in hundreds of pieces. She burst into tears and threw herself on the bed, burying her face in the pillow. So she stayed for long minutes, crying and brooding dark thoughts. She considered death, thinking of cutting her throat with a vibroblade or throwing herself into space through an airlock without a pressure suit. But she quickly rejected these suicidal ideas. What she wanted above all was to avenge herself, to make Luke suffer as she had suffered. For this, she had to go on living.

Suddenly the door of her room chimed and the slightly muffled voice of a stormtrooper was heard.

"Major Brie? Lord Vader would like to see you, he asked me to lead you to him."

"Give me a minute to get ready," she replied.

She found a military fatigue and boots in the wardrobe of her room. She put them on, then went to dry her tears. When she was presentable, she opened the door.

"I'm ready, sergeant, lead me to Lord Vader."

She followed the sergeant through the ship's corridors to the quarters of the Sith Lord. Darth Vader was waiting for her inside his meditation chamber.

"Come in, Shira," he said.

She stepped forward, entered the room and sat on her knees at the feet of the Dark Lord.

"You cried," he said, "why?"

"My Lord, why did you come for me? I was weak, I failed in my mission, you should have let me die. How can I still serve you, reduced as I am to this state, half woman, half machine?"

"You developed feelings for young Skywalker."

"Yes, I had the opportunity to kill him, but I hesitated and he got me."

"Passion is strength, but attachment is weakness, you must not forget it."

"Yes, my Lord."

Vader pressed a switch on the control panel in front of him. The meditation chamber closed and the pressure began to rise.

"Do you know why I wear this mask, Shira?"

"You need it to breathe, my Lord, it keeps you alive, like the cybernetic girdle I have to wear now."

Vader pressed another switch. A mechanical arm descended from the ceiling and came to remove his helmet, then another removed the respiratory mask that covered his face. Shira saw for the first time the face of the Sith Lord. His bald skull had horrible burn scars. His blue dark circled eyes, with yellow highlights, stared at her with a hard look, which at times seemed strangely to show like a hint of kindness. Shira felt pity for the suffering he must have endured. Her own fate no longer seemed so terrible to her.

"In this hyperbaric chamber," said Vader, "it is possible for me to remove this mask and breathe normally. Very few people have seen my face the way you see it right now."

"My Lord, may I ask what happened to you?"

"Formerly, under the Old Republic, I was a Jedi knight, probably one of the best. I loved a woman passionately, something that was prohibited by the order's rules. I was totally obsessed with the fear of losing her. Chancellor Palpatine – Darth Sidious – sensed my fear and offered me the power of the Dark Side, promising me that it would save her. When the Jedi masters betrayed the republic and tried to assassinate the chancellor, I accepted his offer and became Darth Vader. I hunted and killed the Jedi while my new master proclaimed himself Emperor."

"And your wife, what happened to her?"

"She betrayed me. She joined forces with my former master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, who tried to kill me. He almost succeeded, leaving me mutilated and horribly burned on the bank of a lava river. It was the Emperor who saved me, he came for me and then offered me new limbs and this armor that keeps me alive. Only then did I learn that in my anger, I had killed the woman I loved. Now, my master is all I have left."

"I understand, my Lord. You've done for me what the Emperor has done for you."

Shira smiled, she was beginning to feel a little euphoric in this oxygen saturated atmosphere.

"Don't be mistaken," replied Vader, "if Darth Sidious saved me, it wasn't out of compassion, but solely because of my potential as a Sith apprentice. That's also why I came for you. You have a very rare gift, Shira, I felt it from the first day I saw you. A dark light shines within you that only asks to grow. The Rule of Two, which governs our order, forbids me to take you officially as a Sith apprentice and confer on you the title of Darth, so you will be my secret pupil. Officially, Major Shira Brie was killed in action, that's what I told your intelligence superiors. Henceforth, you will be known as Lumiya, lady of the Dark Side."

"Thank you master, I promise not to disappoint you anymore."

Vader raised his hand and a red shining tetrahedral crystal adorned with symbols floated up to him.

"Do you know what this object is, Lumiya?"

"No master, I've never seen anything like this."

"It's a Sith holocron, a repository of the millennial knowledge of our order. Only a Dark Side adept can open it and access its knowledge. It's up to you to open it."

Lumiya raised her hand and brought the holocron to her. She closed her eyes and concentrated. At first, she saw nothing. She then thought of Luke and let her hatred rise. She saw then that each vertex of the tetrahedron could pivot at a certain angle. She rotated them one by one with the Force and the tetrahedron opened, revealing an image of an ancient Sith Lord.

"Good," said Vader, bringing the holocron towards him and closing it back. "I have assigned you new quarters away from the crew under the name of Lady Lumiya."

He raised his hand again and a black cape and scarf floated down to him.

"You will put on this cape and cover your face with this scarf and you will go in your new quarters with the holocron. It will teach you the ancient language of our order. When you will have sufficiently studied it, I shall see what new mission I will entrust you with."

Vader put his mask and helmet back on and the pressure in the chamber began to come down. Meanwhile, Lumiya put the cape on her shoulders and covered her face with the scarf. The meditation chamber opened as the pressure dropped back to normal and Lumiya, taking the holocron, left her master to join her quarters.

* * *

 _Imperial City, Coruscant_

When Lumiya regained consciousness, it took her a moment to remember where she was. She wasn't in the quarters that Vader had assigned her on board the _Executor_ , that was only a dream. In fact, she was lying on a cell bunk in the detention block of the Imperial Palace. It was obvious that the control collar which had kept her unconscious for long hours had just been turned off. She now remembered having defied Claria the night before and been defeated. She also remembered what the Sith Lady had told her about her late master and Luke Skywalker. Could this be true? Why hadn't Vader told her anything? While she was trying to find answers in the Force, the door of her cell opened and director Isard went in, accompanied by agent Ivak.

"Major Brie," said Isard, "it's a real pleasure to see you alive! We thought you had been dead all this time!"

"Shira Brie _is_ dead, Isard, I'm lady Lumiya now!"

Ysanne Isard pressed a button on her belt and Lumiya received a violent electric shock through her control collar.

"Show a little respect, Major, as far as I'm concerned, you're still my subordinate whatever the title Vader had conferred on you!"

"My apologies, Madam Director."

"That's better. I'm not here to quarrel you, Lumiya. In fact, I would like to speak with you about your old master, Darth Vader and our new common enemy, Darth Claria."

"What would you like to know?"

"First, tell me about this infiltration mission entrusted to you by Vader and which led to your official death."

"My mission was to approach Commander Skywalker and kill or discredit him. But it didn't happen as planned, it was I who was shot down and I would be dead if Lord Vader had not saved me."

"Yes, I learned that Skywalker was briefly dismissed for apparently killing one of his teammates. But it seems he managed to prove fairly quickly that you were a spy and restored his honor. Vader then took you as a secret apprentice. What was his goal?"

"I don't really know. First he entrusted me with a Sith holocron so that I could learn the old black language and at the same time I made myself this armor I wear. He then introduced me to the Emperor, who took me to his service as one of his Hands. Finally he sent me on Ziost where I found an old Sith scroll explaining how to build a lightwhip. I was still there when I felt his death in the Force. I then came back and confronted Claria for the title of Sith Lady. I managed to hurt her but she struck me down with Force lightning. I didn't think she would be able to invoke such power so quickly. I obviously underestimated her. She told me something strange that I first took for lies. According to her, Darth Vader would have tried to kill the Emperor and Luke Skywalker would be his son."

"She was probably lying to destabilize you. The Emperor himself confirmed that Vader had been killed by Skywalker."

"No, she was telling the truth. I felt it in the Force even though I didn't want to admit it. But I don't understand. If Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa are Vader's children and if he tried to kill the Emperor to save his son, why had he entrusted me with the mission of killing Luke six months earlier? This makes no sense to me."

"Princess Leia would be Vader's daughter and Skywalker's sister? Strange but nevertheless plausible. It's public knowledge that she's an orphan of the Clone Wars that the royal couple of Alderaan adopted. As for Vader's behaviour, I guess we might see it as a conflict between his paternal feelings and his Sith allegiance."

"What do you intend to do with me now, Madam Director?"

"You've been very useful to me, Lumiya, so I will let you free. Agent Ivak, please take off her control collar and lead her back to her speeder bike discreetly. As for you, Lumiya, try to take back your place as Emperor's Hand and apologize to Darth Claria. We will have to use other methods than direct confrontation to destabilize her."

"Do you have a plan for that?"

"Yes, I have my own idea."

Ivak removed the control collar from Lumiya's neck and led her to the hangar where her speeder bike had been stored. Ysanne Isard left the detention block and returned to her office. Once she arrived, she took a comlink from a drawer that was not her usual one and made a call.

"Shan Logan? Here's your favorite information source. What would you say about dinner with me this evening at the _Palace Delights_ restaurant? Ask for lady Chonelai."

"Chonelai, that's a Pantorian name, isn't it? All right, I'll be there," the man replied.

"Very well, see you tonight."

She hung up. Shan Logan was a well-known sludgenews reporter that hosted a celebrities show on the HNE Coruscant holochannel. She had an affair with him more than five years ago, before she became Director of Intelligence. Of course, she could no longer afford this kind of weakness now. For pleasure, she had at her disposal all the slaves she could desire, and those who were not up to the task were not given a second chance. The only man she still sought to seduce was Emperor Palpatine himself. She knew of course that it was not without risk for a woman blind to the Force to have intimate relations with a mighty Sith Lord – some Imperial concubines had paid for it with their life or mental health – but she was willing to take the risk to gain even more power. However, in spite of her efforts and the rumors that were going on about it, she had not yet obtained what she wanted. As for her former lover, she now settled for providing him some crunchy stories for his show from time to time and protecting him from possible reprisals. She considered indeed that it was much better on a planet as populated and cosmopolitan as Coruscant to leave a certain freedom to the press rather than to censor everything. The populace was much more obedient if their chains were not too tight. One thing was certain, however: with what she had just learned, Shan Logan's next show will surely break audience records.

* * *

 _Note_ _: The cybernetic girdle that Lumiya has to wear permanently is evoked several times in the official Legends literature but never precisely described. I give here my personal vision. I was inspired by an illustration in **Jedi vs. Sith: The official guide to the Force** where she is represented in underwear (panties and shirt) in the _ Executor' _s infirmary and where her cybernetic girdle is not visible; which seems to confirm that its extent is relatively limited._


	7. Chapter 7: Nighttime encounters

_**Palpatine officially appoints Darth Claria as the new Supreme Commander of the Imperial forces to replace Vader, Ysanne Isard goes out to dinner with her ex-lover journalist while Lumiya is looking for an ally... and maybe more! ;-)**_

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Nighttime encounters**

After a good night sleep, Claria left the medcenter and went back to her apartments. She discarded her torn, blood-stained robe, took a sanisteam, and put on indoor clothes. After taking a good breakfast, she spent the rest of the morning in a healing trance to accelerate the cicatrization of her wound. Towards noon she was contacted by the Emperor through the Force who inquired about her state of health and invited her to a tactical meeting in the early afternoon. She was served for lunch, put on her black suit and a cloak of the same color, immobilized her wounded arm with a scarf and went to the Emperor's convocation. Along the way, she remembered that she had arrested Lumiya the night before and called the Palace detention block. Agent Ivak told her that Lumiya had been released that very morning on Ysanne Isard's orders.

The meeting was held in a conference room adjoining the throne room. Those present were Grand Vizier Pestage, Director Isard, Grand Admirals Il-Raz and Tigellinus, General Deerian and Admiral Drommel, who commanded the Coruscant defense fleet. The Emperor having not yet arrived, Claria seized the opportunity to take on Ysanne Isard.

"Director Isard, I just learned that you've released the cyborg Lumiya whose arrest I ordered for attempted murder on my person. I'm waiting for your explanations!"

"I assure you that I have nothing to do with this aggression, Lady Claria. Agent Ivak notified me that Lumiya's genetic profile corresponded perfectly with one of my former agents, Major Shira Brie, whom I had entrusted to Vader for a secret mission and that I believed dead."

"What mission was that?"

"She had been charged with infiltrating the rebel Alliance and killing Luke Skywalker. But it apparently went wrong for her and she was seriously mutilated. Vader declared her dead and seems to have made her a secret apprentice. I went to interrogate her and I released her against her promise to recognize your Sith Lady title and apologize to you. I think she went to rest since you had quite jolted her."

"She also left me a particularly unpleasant memory. Remember anyway that I will hold you personally responsible for any new aggression on her part."

Claria thought for a moment. She had sensed Lumiya's ambiguous feelings for Luke Skywalker and she was beginning to understand why. Shira Brie must have fallen in love with Luke and this was probably the reason for her mission failure. This feeling had then changed into a fierce hatred when she had made him responsible for her failure and injuries.

The Emperor finally entered, escorted by two Imperial Guards, and the whole audience bowed respectfully. He sat down on the chair at the end of the conference table and invited Darth Claria to take place on his right – the place previously reserved for Darth Vader – and Grand Vizier Pestage on his left. The other persons sat next to the Emperor all the more closely as their rank or function was high. To make things clear, he announced that Darth Claria was officially appointed Supreme Commander of the Imperial Forces to replace Vader, which did not arouse much enthusiasm in the assistance except from General Deerian. Ysanne Isard then gave an account of the situation following the battle of Endor. The surviving ships had now returned to the Coruscant system and the fate of the four Grand Admirals present at Endor had been confirmed: if Declann had died aboard the Death Star, Teshik, Makati and Takel had evacuated the station in time. Takel and Makati were on their way to Coruscant while Teshik, who had covered the fleet's retreat, had been finally captured by the Rebel Alliance. The publicized return of the Emperor had also helped to stabilize the situation in the Outer Rim where no world of strategic importance had been lost. The Rebel Alliance had therefore not gained any decisive advantage from its victory at Endor, and it was now time to prepare the response.

Grand Admiral Rufaan Tigellinus, who also served as the Grand Moff of the Imperial Center Oversector, pointed out that following the loss of the _Executor_ , another Super Star Destroyer had to be assigned to the new Supreme Commander. Admiral Drommel protested that his Super Star Destroyer, the _Guardian_ , was assigned to the protection of the Coruscant system, which could not be left defenseless to go hunting rebels out in the Outer Rim. Grand Admiral Ishin-Il-Raz suggested recalling the _Iron Fist_ , currently assigned to Grand Moff Zsinj in the Quelii Oversector where rebel activity was low, but Claria rejected this idea on the grounds that Zsinj was a man of unpredictable character and questionable loyalty. Seeing that no one was in agreement, the Emperor decided to postpone the question until a later date and adjourned the meeting.

"You don't have to choose a command ship on a hurry, Lady Claria," he said as she walked him back to the throne room, "take time to think it over. By the way, how's your arm going?"

"Better, master, I can move my fingers again but it will take me at least two days to recover completely. I'm going to resume my healing trance if you don't need me anymore."

"No, my dear, take your rest."

Returning to her apartments, Claria met Roganda Ismaren, who was in great discussion with Agent Ivak. Remembering the services she had offered the day before, she called out to her.

"Hello Roganda, could I speak to you for a moment? If you would excuse us, Agent Ivak?"

"Of course, my ladies, I'll leave you," he said as he walked away.

"Since you have so generously offered me your services, Roganda, I would like to entrust you with a mission."

"I'm at your service, Lady Claria, what is it?"

"I want to be sure of Grand Moff Zsinj's loyalty to the Empire. So I'd like you to go to the Quelii Oversector on the _Iron Fist_ and test the waters with Zsinj. Does that seem to be up your alley?"

"Yes, my Lady, let me have time to make arrangements with Irek, and I shall set out."

"Irek, he's the son you had with Sarcev Quest, isn't he? How old is he now?"

"Eight years, my Lady, and his gifts in the Force are very promising, I'm very proud of him."

"Send him my congratulations and give me your report on your return."

Leaving Roganda, Claria returned to her apartments and resumed her healing trance.

* * *

After the meeting, Ysanne Isard returned to her apartments and prepared for her evening appointment. Before being Director of Intelligence, she had been a field agent and taking on the appearance of a near-human species was an art she mastered perfectly. She undressed, took a sanisteam and began to dye her skin a pale blue. She then dyed her hair in pale purple and tied them in a bun with a gold brooch. Then she put on amethyst colored contact lenses to hide her mismatched eyes that were too easily recognizable. She then donned a long purple dress, put on earrings and a gold necklace, and ended with lipstick and dark blue nail polish. She was now Lady Chonelai, a beautiful Pantorian aristocrat. She put on her shoulders a hooded cloak of color matching her dress, covered her head, and went quietly out of the palace to the restaurant where she had reserved a private room for two people under her alias.

Shan Logan arrived at the restaurant soon after. He was a man of about forty years, with fair hair, gray eyes, and dull skin, who always wore an eight days beard to give himself an adventurer look. He wore a half-unbuttoned sand-colored shirt and trousers of the same color. He told the droid butler that he was invited to dinner by Lady Chonelai and was taken to the private room.

"Sit down, Shan," Chonelai said, "this room has been secured by myself, we can talk without fear of being eavesdropped on."

He sat in front of her and the butler took orders before leaving them alone. Shan began the conversation.

"You're truly delightful as a noble Pantorian lady, Ysanne, I'd gladly invite you to spend the rest of the night at my apartment."

"Forget that, Shan, it's definitely history. And I would be sorry to get you angry with your colleague Kaithlin Piell, you form such a beautiful holographic couple. Be already glad to benefit from my information and protection. Without me, you wouldn't be here now."

"You're talking about the time that underkriffed Thalassa Tarkin old crone unleashed Boba Fett on me for revealing that her Grand Moff of a husband was banging young and pretty admiral Daala, I suppose?"

"Among other things, yes. I had to persuade Lady Tarkin to cancel the bounty, convince her husband not to have you executed and compensate Fett who is overpriced as you know."

"Well, Boba Fett should no longer cause me worries in the future, it seems that he ended up in a sarlacc's stomach on Tatooine a fortnight ago."

"I heard that too, but I wouldn't believe Fett's death until I saw his corpse with my own eyes. This isn't the first time he's said to be dead and these mandalorian armors are almost indestructible. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the sarlacc eventually found him inedible."

"And this dear Daala, have you heard from her since her lover died?"

"No, she seems to have disappeared, as the four Star Destroyers that Tarkin had placed under her command."

"Perhaps she's hiding from her colleagues in the Admiralty. They probably didn't like to see among them a young woman who had slept her way up and was previously only a corporal in the Supply Corps. She may be afraid to end up as Maarisa Zsinj, the mother of the current Grand Moff."

"Natasi Daala amply deserves her rank, she's an unparalleled tactician! The scandal is that she was confined to a shabby position due to sexism in our armed forces. Tarkin simply acknowledged her talents at their true value. The rebels don't have this kind of stupid prejudice, they don't hesitate to entrust positions of responsibility to women. If the Empire did the same, we might not be in this delicate position. In reality, I suspect that Tarkin had assigned her to one of his secret programs – of which even the Emperor is unaware – with orders not to communicate with anyone. She will have obeyed him as a good little soldier and probably even ignores that he's dead."

"So her name is Natasi? It's a very pretty firstname, rather rare in the Core Worlds, of Irmenuan origin I would guess."

They were interrupted by a droid waiter who brought them their dinner. They then resumed their conversation while eating.

"But I didn't invite you to talk about Tarkin or Daala, Shan. I have information about the late Lord Vader and his replacement, Darth Claria."

"What about starting with our new Sith Lady? I heard rumors that she wouldn't be anymore a countess than you and me. Her name would in fact be Mara Jade and not Claria and she would be a former dancer of the palace troupe."

"You're well informed, she actually used a dancer cover, but in reality, she's a longtime agent of Emperor Palpatine, known as the Emperor's Hand. Apart from that, we don't know much about her past, I can't even tell if Mara Jade is her real name as she wasn't in the civil registers. The birth certificate in the name of Countess Mara Jade Claria that you'll find there now is a very recent forgery, probably added by order of Grand Vizier Pestage just before her official appointment."

"In any case, this position could, in case Palpatine really came to die, open her the way to the Imperial Throne."

"Claria? Empress? You're not serious! The succession law doesn't recognize Sith filiation. As the Senate was dissolved, it would be, in the absence of a legitimate heir, up the Imperial Ruling Council and the Council of Moffs to agree on a successor."

"The issue of legitimate heirs should be resolved quickly. We both know that the claims of Irek Ismaren or Supreme Slavelord Trioculus of Kessel are false. Unless you know something I would ignore, Ysanne?"

She thought for a moment. She had heard of a genetic offspring of Palpatine, a mutant born to her former Umbaran assistant Sly Moore, who had been called Triclops. But he was suffering from insanity and accelerated aging and had been interned on Kessel. He had obviously not been fathered in a natural way and was probably the failed product of an unnatural Sith experience. He was therefore not worthy to be considered.

"No, Shan, to my knowledge, Emperor Palpatine has no biological heir. So we're back to the councils. Grand Vizier Pestage, Advisor Dangor, Grand Moff Zsinj or High Inquisitor Jerec would be likely candidates."

"Or even yourself, Ysanne. But if the situation were reversed and Vader had survived Palpatine, no doubt he would have obtained the throne, wouldn't he? So don't underestimate Claria's chances. Even if the Empire is a constitutional monarchy in law, you're not unaware that it's more of a Sith magocracy in fact."

"Be careful Shan, you're touching on dangerous matter. And we move away from our subject."

"You're right Ysanne. What interesting things can you tell me about Vader?"

"Brace yourself Shan, this is heavy stuff! I know from a reliable source that Vader wasn't killed by Skywalker as it was told. He would have tried to kill the Emperor to save the young Luke who would in fact be his own son. Even better, Princess Leia Organa, one of the leaders of the rebel Alliance, would be Vader's daughter and therefore Skywalker's sister."

"Kriff, Ysanne, what a scoop! And if Luke Skywalker is Vader's son, it would mean that Vader himself was none other than–"

"The former Jedi Anakin Skywalker, yes, the Clone Wars hero. He was believed to be dead, but he might have followed the ways of the Sith as Palpatine's apprentice under the name of Darth Vader. He would then have lost a duel against his former Jedi master Obi-Wan Kenobi and would have become the black-armored cyborg we know."

"Speaking of cyborgs, I learned that yesterday at the palace was seen this woman cyborg somewhat resembling Vader that we had already seen with him about three months ago. Do you know anything about her?"

"Just that she calls herself Lumiya and was Vader's secret apprentice. And she doesn't seem to like Darth Claria very much. They fought last night for the title of Sith Lady. Claria won and Lumiya conceded defeat."

"Thank you again for this dinner, Ysanne. I think I'll go back and prepare tomorrow's show. I feel we will once again beat the audience records."

"It's always a pleasure to see you, Shan. And above all, remember to never mention the Sith order, or you risk attracting the Emperor's wrath, against which I wouldn't be able to protect you."

"Don't worry, I'm not stupid. Good night, Ysanne."

"Good night, Shan."

Lady Chonelai paid the bill and quietly returned to the palace. Back in her apartments, she removed her makeup before going to bed.

* * *

After being released, Lumiya regained her hideout in the industrial zone. She removed her armor, took a sanisteam and put on the jumpsuit she wore on Ziost. She then spent a good part of the day in a healing trance to recover from the Force lightning that had struck her. Once healed, she fed herself with her usual proteinated drink and mulled over her options.

She was alone and had lost her lightwhip and helmet, so she had to find allies quickly. Vader had left her on a datapad a list of trusted agents whom she could contact on his part in case of need and she undertook to look it over. Her attention stopped on Wrenga Jixton, said Jix, a typical Corellian scoundrel of about thirty-five. He had many contacts in the smuggling and organized crime community, and had in particular assisted Vader in dismantling the Black Sun criminal organization led by the late Prince Xizor, which had since been replaced by Dequc's Black Nebula, a former lieutenant of Xizor. When he wasn't on a mission for Vader, Jix usually hung around in a shady Underground bar, not far from Lumiya's hideout. In addition, he was a very handsome boy with his long black hair tied in a ponytail and his well muscled torso. Looking at his portrait on the datapad, Lumiya felt her body thrill with desire.

She hadn't had a lover for such a long time. The last one was a cadet at the military Academy of Carida, almost three years ago. Shira and her roommate, Myrette Davani, were the prettiest girls in the promotion and the boys, in far greater number, were fighting to go out on leave with them. With Luke, she hadn't had time to get it on, although it wasn't for lack of desire on her part. If she now took another man as a lover, it would also be a way for her to start taking revenge.

But would she still be able to seduce a man, with her maimed body? Her prostheses were only noticeable to the touch and her cybernetic girdle would be visible only when undressed. She intended to use the Force to divert attention when necessary, but she absolutely had to hide her face scars. Fortunately, her secret agent training had taught her the art of makeup. She covered her scars with synthskin, carefully smoothed them, then covered her face with foundation. She added blue eyeshadow, mascara and lilac lipstick. For her artificial nails, she didn't need varnish, it was enough to touch them with a special stylus and the incorporated nanites automatically generated the requested color. She then removed her suit and replaced her body shirt with a bra that showed off her breasts. She chose a blue evening gown that came to her knees with a wide cleavage on her chest and finally added a necklace, earrings and high-heeled evening shoes. Looking at herself in the mirror, she found herself somewhat vulgar, but after all, she went out to seduce a man who used to go around with such women. She put on her shoulders a hooded cloak matching her dress and went out.

She left her speeder bike in front of the bar under the care of a shady Trandoshan she paid generously, then entered. She was relieved to see that Wrenga Jixton was there, sitting alone at the bar, drinking a whiskey. He wore black trousers and a sleeveless jacket of the same color, wide open on his muscular chest. She went to approach him.

"Good evening Jix, can I offer you another drink? Two corellian whiskeys, without ice," she ordered the barman.

"I never refuse to drink with a pretty girl," replied Jix, "although I don't think I have the honor to know you."

"You can call me Shira, I know you by a common friend, Lord Vader. I would like to drink with you in his memory."

"Well Shira, I think I'll miss him, he was a hard but good boss. I don't think I ever met his replacement, this Darth Claria, what do you think of her?"

"I'm trying not to. Let's drink together: to Darth Vader, may the Force be with him forever and ever!"

"To Darth Vader!"

They both emptied their glass in one go. Seeing that Shira was eying him intensely, Jix took his chance.

"How about continuing this conversation in a more intimate setting? My studio is just a stone's throw from here across the street."

"I was just going to propose that, Jix, I like you very much."

"I like you too, Shira."

Lumiya followed Wrenga Jixton to his flat, which was effectively right in front of the bar. By the way, she gave some credits again to the Trandoshan who was still watching over her speeder bike. Jix's studio was located in a shabby building typical of the Coruscant Underground. The corridors were filled with junkies of all kinds addicted to deathsticks or glitterstim spice. The flat itself consisted of a single room which served as a living and bedroom with a small kitchen and a refresher. She went to sit on the edge of the bed and Jix sat down next to her.

"Where had we left, Shira?" asked Jix.

"I think we were just there," she replied, taking his face in her hands and laying her lips on his.

As they kissed, she applied a slight suggestion through the Force so that the touch of her hands would appear natural to Jix, but she hadn't noticed that he had discreetly slipped his hand under her dress and started to stroke her thigh. Feeling the unusual touch of the synthskin, he pushed her back brutally.

"What are you actually, Shira? A human replica droid sent by a Black Nebula vigo to entrap me?"

She got up and suddenly felt very stupid: "Congratulations, girl," she said to herself, "you were so focused on the kiss that you didn't pay attention to his hands, now you're forced to pull out all the stops." She unfastened her dress and let it drop at her feet. She was now standing in front of him in her underwear with her cybernetic girdle in plain sight.

"No Jix, I'm not here to trap you, I only want your company. I'm Lady Lumiya, secret pupil of Lord Vader and yes, my limbs are artificial and I have to permanently wear a metal girdle to keep me alive."

She took Jix's hand in hers and held it up her thigh to her groin.

"But I want to reassure you, the essential parts are still genuine."

Feeling the warmth between Lumiya's legs, Jix abandoned all apprehension. He took her in his arms and resumed the kiss he had interrupted.

* * *

The next morning, Lumiya got up discreetly and began to dress. She was putting on her gown when she felt Jix was awake.

"You're leaving already?" he said, "I hoped we could at least share the breakfast."

"Thanks for your offer, but I'm on a drastic diet that forbids me any solid food. But I would gladly have a cup of caf if possible."

"Of course, I'll bring some to you right away."

Jix got up and put on his pants. He walked over to the kitchen and came out a minute later with two cups of a fragrant black smoking beverage.

"You're truly a fascinating woman, Lumiya," he said. "I've been around with a lot of girls of various species but this is the first time I spend the night with a cyborg. You really impressed me. In the heat of action, I would even swear at times that you were perfectly normal, or would you have used some witchcraft on me?"

"Leave me a part of mystery, Jix, but I can guarantee you that I didn't use the Force to seduce you without your knowledge. I leave that to others."

"Like Roganda Ismaren? She may be beautiful and sophisticated, but she's got a heart of stone. You're different, Lumiya, although you're half machine, you're still capable of human feelings."

"Yes Jix, even if I sometimes regret it. There's one more thing I would like to ask you. Did Vader tell you anything about the nature of his relationship with Luke Skywalker? Did you know he was his father?"

"Luke Skywalker? Vader's son? No, I had no knowledge of that. But when Xizor tried to have Skywalker killed on Tatooine a little less than a year ago, he asked me to protect him. I infiltrated one of Jabba the Hutt's swoop gangs and when we met Skywalker near Beggar's Canyon, I was forced to kill the gang leader to protect him. It was before Boba Fett delivered the frozen body of Captain Solo. Then, after Xizor's death, Vader sent me somewhere else."

"How strange. In my case, Vader sent me to infiltrate the Rebel Alliance with the mission of killing or discrediting Luke. But it was this bastard who shot me down and made me what I am now. And you, he had charged you to protect him. He must have been in the grip of a terrible inner conflict."

"By the way, I recently caught up with Melina Carniss, a former security officer at Jabba's Palace. She told me that shortly before the Hutt's death, she had arrested a redhead dancer called Arica who seemed to be greatly interested in Skywalker. But this girl slipped between her legs using some witchcraft. Would that have been you by chance?"

"No, I never set foot on Tatooine, but I think I know who this Arica was: Mara Jade, the Emperor's Hand, currently known as Darth Claria."

"You don't like her very much, do you?"

"That little bitch took the title I aspired to. I tried to take it back from her, but I failed and she took my weapon. I still left her a bitter memory in the right arm but she neutralized me with Force lightning. I'm forced to acknowledge that she's better than me. I will have no choice but to pay allegiance. That's why I need your support, Jix, I'm alone and surrounded by enemies."

"You can count on me to the limit of my abilities, I know nothing about the Force. Can I hope to see you again soon?"

"I hope so Jix, I'll contact you if I need your company again."

Lumiya finished her cup of caf, put her cloak back on her shoulders and kissed Jix one last time before leaving. She found her speeder bike still under the care of the Trandoshan, gave him some more credits and went back to her hideout. She had not felt so well for a long time. Along the way, Vader's words, a quote from the Sith creed, came to mind: "Passion is strength but attachment is weakness." She liked Jix a lot but she couldn't allow herself to fall in love again. The last time it had happened to her, it had cost her way too much.

* * *

 _Notes : _Kriff _is a vulgar interjection more or less equivalent to_ Fuck _._  
 _Natasi Daala, Tarkin's former mistress, appears in several Legends novels including Michael Reeves and Steve Perry's **Death Star** or Kevin J. Anderson's **Jedi Academy** Trilogy and **Darksaber**._  
 _Wrenga Jixton, Vader's agent, appears in the comic book adaptation of **Shadows of the Empire**._  
 _Mara's mission at Jabba's palace, under the alias of Arica, is told in Timothy Zahn's short story **Sleight of Hand: The Tale of Mara Jade** , part of the **Tales from Jabba's palace** collection. She also appears in Brian Daley's **Star Wars: Return of the Jedi** 1996 radiodrama adaptation, where she talks with C-3PO._


	8. Chapter 8: Scandal and consequences

_**Journalists Shan Logan and Kaithlin Piell make public the relationship between Luke, Leïa and Vader as well as the origins of Claria. The latter doesn't intend to let Ysanne Isard get away with it so well.**_

 _ **New characters come in and you will meet journalist Kaithlin Piell, Shan Logan's collegue (who Lando likes very much ;-) )**_

* * *

 **Chapter 8: Scandal and consequences**

 _Provisional rebel base, forest moon of Endor_

Leia Organa was deeply concerned. She had received extremely bad news from Coruscant: not only was the Emperor well alive but the special operations team that the Rebel Alliance had sent to the scene in anticipation of his death, including her childhood friend Winter Retrac, was reportedly dismantled by Imperial Intelligence and all its members executed. So she was relieved to see the young white haired woman coming down from the transport shuttle that had just arrived, obviously very tired.

Winter was the only daughter of Sheltay Retrac, the parliamentary assistant to Senator Bail Prestor Organa during the Clone Wars. She was only a few months old when her parents died in a shuttle accident and she was then adopted informally by Senator Organa and his wife, Queen Breha. Winter and Leia were raised together at the royal palace of Alderaan as two sisters and as they became young women, both of them joined the Rebel Alliance. Although blind to the Force unlike Leia, Winter possessed an even rarer gift, a perfect visual and auditory memory. She never forgot anything she saw or heard, including unfortunately the bad memories. This gift naturally designated her for a career in the Alliance's intelligence services where she operated under the code name of "Targeter". She was on a mission for the Alliance on the day the first Death Star, under the command of Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, destroyed Alderaan with her adoptive parents and thus survived the destruction of her native world. Her last assignment consisted of providing logistical support to the special operations team that was to launch a popular uprising on Coruscant if Emperor Palpatine had been killed as expected on the second Death Star.

"Winter!" said Leia, hugging her foster sister, "The Force be praised, you are alive! We had feared the worst!"

"It went close," Winter replied, "Ysanne Isard's forces hunted us relentlessly. I had to hide for two days without practically eating or sleeping before I managed to board a freighter that was leaving the system. I fear to be the only survivor. The others were captured and immediately shot as an example."

"Alas, everything didn't happen as we had planned, Emperor Palpatine survived. But there's something else that's bothering you, isn't it? I can feel it."

"Leia, we've always said it all! Is it true what's being told? That you're Luke's sister and the daughter of Darth Vader?"

"Yes, it's the truth. But how could you know? Luke just announced it to me a few days ago!"

"All of Coruscant knows, Leia! And the rest of the Galaxy will soon learn it."

"Was it publicly announced? Luke had warned me that the Emperor had read it in his mind but I would have thought he would rather keep the information for himself."

"This isn't an official announcement. The Imperial Palace didn't say anything about it, they just announced Vader's death at Luke's hands. But there were leaks somewhere. Shan Logan and Kaithlin Piell threw it all in their celebrities show on HNE Coruscant. I managed to get a copy of the show on board the freighter on which I embarked."

"If it doesn't come from Palpatine himself, it must be someone high up who organized the leak."

"And that's not all, the Imperial forces have a new Supreme Commander to replace Vader: Darth Claria, a young redhead whose true name would be Mara Jade, a former Emperor's Hand. I think she's a Sith now."

"Yes, _Darth_ is a Sith title. It was she who intervened aboard the Death Star to save Palpatine and he then made her his new apprentice as Luke feared."

"Did you inform Mon Mothma about your relationship with Vader?"

"Yes, she knows, but she hasn't yet informed the various commanders of the Alliance. She fears this may lead some of them to distrust us, starting with the Bothan representative, Borsk Fey'lya."

"And it will be even worse if they learn it from the imperial press."

"Listen, I'm going to organize a meeting to discuss all of this. Meanwhile, go sleep a few hours, you look horrible."

"Yes, you're right, see you soon Leia."

* * *

A few hours later, a meeting was convened in which took part, besides Leia and Winter, Mon Mothma, leader of the Rebel Alliance, General Crix Madine, Rogue Squadron commander Wedge Antilles as well as Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Lando Calrissian, Chewbacca and the protocol droid C-3PO. Winter arrived last with the holographic recording she had brought back from Coruscant.

"Hello Winter," Lando welcomed her, "it's a pleasure to see you again, you're always so lovely."

"You must be joking Lando, I look awful. I have barely slept for more than two days."

"Is it a recording of Logan and Piell's last show that you brought? I love this show, we learn all the latest gossip of the Imperial court. And Kaithlin Piell is such a charming woman."

He then turned to Han Solo.

"Did I tell you already that she came to Cloud City on Bespin two years ago to make a newsreport for HNE on tibanna gas extraction?"

"I hope at least you received her better than me and Leia, old scumbag," Han replied.

Winter started the holographic projector and three-dimensional images of the two newscasters appeared in the middle of the table: Shan Logan and Kaithlin Piell, a young blue-eyed blonde in her thirties, with her hair tied in a bun and her famous holographic glasses that served both as a recording camera for her newsreports and as a prompter when she presented.

" _Dear holospectators, good evening!"_ Kaithlin began, _"and thank you for following with us the hot news of the week on HNE Coruscant. A particularly busy news week, isn't it Shan?"_

" _Yes, quite so Kaithlin! We haven't experienced such effervescence since the marriage of Colonel Baron Soontir Fel with the famous holodrama actress Wynssa Starflare three years ago!"_

Hearing this name, Wedge had a twinge in his heart: Wynssa Starflare's true name was indeed Syal Antilles, his eldest sister, whom he had not seen for nearly fifteen years. This also made him the brother-in-law of one of the best pilots in the Empire, and he was afraid above all to have to face him one day in battle.

" _First,"_ Kaithlin resumed, _"there was this attempt by rebel terrorists led by Luke Skywalker to kill our Emperor Palpatine aboard an Endor system space station, during which Lord Vader was killed and which gave rise to the spread of false rumors announcing the Emperor's death."_

" _Yes, Kaithlin, but I have information that leads us to believe that everything didn't happen exactly as announced by the Palace's official statement, I will come back to it later. As for the false rumors spread by infiltrated rebel agents, I would like to congratulate Madam Director of Intelligence Ysanne Isard for the efficiency of her services in arresting these terrorists and delivering justice."_

"Well," Wedge intervened, "one can say that he licked her boots quite well!"

"You're not aware?" Winter replied, "Shan Logan and Ysanne Isard have been lovers in the past, before she took the place of her father at the head of the intelligence services."

"Iceheart, a lover? I was persuaded she could only enjoy herself by torturing prisoners," replied Wedge.

" _In any case, after Darth Vader's death,"_ resumed Kaithlin, _"the Emperor named Countess Claria, who had come to warn him of the conspiracy, Lady Protector of the Empire and Supreme Commander of the armed forces under the name of Darth Claria."_

A projection of Claria, taken during her statement to the press on her return to Coruscant, appeared on the projection table before the two presenters.

"Yes," Luke intervened, "it's the young woman I saw on the Death Star."

"In any case, it's a pretty name, Darth Claria," Lando said, "the obscure clarity falling from the stars!"

"Always a poet, aren't you Lando?" Han replied.

"I think I've seen this girl somewhere not so long ago," Lando resumed, "but I can't remember where it was."

"One of your old conquests?" Han teased him.

" _But according to my information,"_ Shan resumed, _"Claria wouldn't be more countess than you and me, Kaithlin, her real name would be Mara Jade and she would have worked as a dancer in the Palace troupe."_

"A dancing girl, of course!" Lando exclaimed. "It was at Jabba's palace that I met her. She asked questions to everyone. How did she call herself already? Avika or something like that."

"Arica!" suddenly intervened 3PO. "I met her shortly after arriving with R2. She asked me about you, Master Luke, she wanted to know if you were going to pick me up."

"I also remember now," said Leia. "After Luke killed that ugly rancor and Jabba sentenced him to death with Han and Chewbacca, she came begging Jabba to be allowed to attend the execution. She insisted a lot, probably using the Force, but it was useless and Jabba ordered her to leave his palace immediately."

"The Emperor had surely sent her to kill me," said Luke. "It's fortunate that Jabba didn't let her board his barge, she could have completely defeated my plan."

"I told her I was hoping her dancer's salary was more generous than her costume," 3PO went on, "she didn't have much on herself."

"Sure enough, she was dressed sexy and damn curvy," said Lando with a big grin. "A real dreamlike body!"

"Well, I'm not programmed to judge human beauty criteria, General Calrissian," 3PO resumed. "But the male population seemed indeed to find her very beautiful."

"Stop fantasizing Lando," said Han, "she's a Sith Lady. Going around with these people is quite unhealthy, believe in my experience."

"It's true that Vader didn't really leave me good memories."

"And then, Vader just tightened your throat a bit, that girl there would be able to take on your balls."

"Can't you stop, you both?" Leia asked them. "We're talking about serious matters. You can continue, Winter."

"Sorry sweetheart," Han apologized.

Winter resumed playing the recording she had paused.

" _But this dancer role was only a cover, wasn't it Shan?"_ resumed Kaithlin.

" _Absolutely Kaithlin, Mara Jade was mostly one of the Hands of Emperor Palpatine, a special agent in charge of hunting the traitors and corrupt. It was in this context that she must have learned a plot was being prepared against the Emperor and she acted to foil it."_

" _A short while ago, Shan, you seemed to suggest that you had some revelations to make about Lord Vader's death."_

" _Yes, Kaithlin, as you know, at the present time, the Imperial Palace claims that he was killed at the hands of the rebel Jedi Luke Skywalker while protecting the Emperor, but in reality I can tell you, exclusively for HNE Coruscant, that exactly the opposite happened: Vader died protecting Luke Skywalker."_

" _It's hard to believe Shan! Lord Vader had no sympathy for the rebel Alliance and always served our Emperor with the utmost devotion. Why would he have done such a thing?"_

" _It's related to his real identity, Kaithlin, its ties with the young Skywalker."_

" _You're talking about the Jedi Knight he was before serving the Empire, Shan?"_

" _Yes, I can say today that Darth Vader was actually the former Jedi Anakin Skywalker, the Clone Wars hero, and that Luke Skywalker is his son."_

" _It's incredible! Everyone thought him dead during the Jedi insurrection against Chancellor Palpatine!"_

" _In reality, Kaithlin, Anakin Skywalker remained loyal to the Chancellor and fought the Jedi insurgents. He would have been seriously injured by his former master Obi-Wan Kenobi and would then have become the cyborg we knew, Darth Vader."_

" _I can't believe it Shan, but I think you're not at the end of your revelations."_

" _No, indeed, Anakin Skywalker also had a daughter. She was entrusted by Kenobi to the royal couple of Alderaan, Bail and Breha Organa, who raised her as their own daughter."_

" _You mean that Princess Leia Organa, one of the leaders of the Rebel Alliance, is the daughter of Darth Vader?"_

" _Yes Kaithlin, Vader's daughter and Luke Skywalker's sister."_

" _Well, Shan, this could actually explain that Vador betrayed to protect his children. He would have been executed according to you?"_

" _Probably yes, if not by the Emperor himself, then by Darth Claria."_

" _The very one who has taken his place, that makes sense indeed."_

Chewbacca grunted with perplexity on hearing these revelations.

"Yes Chewie," said Han, "I also have a hard time understanding why the Empire let this reporter reveal all this publicly. Vader was feared and respected throughout the Empire, what interest do they have in letting his memory be tarnished?"

"I only understand it too much," Mon Mothma intervened, "they hope to divide us by spreading suspicion against Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia. Many local commanders will be wary of Darth Vader's children!"

"Don't forget that Shan Logan is protected by Ysanne Isard, Han," said Winter. "If it isn't Palpatine himself who authorized this leak, it's surely Isard. But there's one more thing you should see."

" _But you also have some information for our dear spectators, Kaithlin."_

" _Yes, quite so Shan. As you know, I covered for HNE the reception that was given at the Imperial Palace for the promotion of Lady Claria. On this occasion, I was able to discuss informally with Roganda Ismaren, the former favorite of our Emperor."_

" _Roganda who's always so attractive with her sophisticated dresses and hairstyles. What did she tell you about, her latest conquests?"_

" _No Shan, nothing crunchy. She just told me that she was delighted to see Countess Claria reaching a position of such high rank in the Empire and wished her good luck. But then, I went out a few minutes in the great corridor leaving my holographic camera on. And as I was reviewing the recordings the next day, I came across this."_

Again, a projection appeared before the two presenters. There was a woman in armor, wearing a triangular helmet that covered her entire face and a kind of whip at her waist, who crossed the great corridor of the Palace, no one seeming to pay any attention to her.

" _And you have no memory of meeting this cyborg woman that night, Kaithlin?"_

" _No, Shan, it's very disturbing, she was there since my camera recorded her and her outfit reminiscent of Lord Vader should have attracted attention. Yet no one seems to have seen her."_

" _It's probable that she has another thing in common with Vader than her armor, Kaithlin. She's probably a Force adept. This is what allows her to go unnoticed."_

" _In fact, she had already been seen at the Palace three months ago with Lord Vader, Shan. She seems to be indeed connected to him."_

The projected image changed, showing the cyborg woman in Vader's company, both heading towards the throne room. Luke felt a strange feeling entering him.

" _I can confirm that, Kaithlin, I recently learned that she was called Lumiya and that she was Vader's secret pupil. According to my sources, she also had a violent altercation with Darth Claria later in the evening."_

" _This may indeed explain why Lady Claria had her arm immobilized with a scarf the next day. They must have given themselves a damn beating, Shan. But now, it's time for some advertising."_

As Winter stopped the projection, Luke called upon the Force to try to determine the origin of his trouble. He felt a distant, dark, and yet strangely familiar presence. An image appeared to him, that of a young woman with brown-red hair and gray-green eyes. She spoke to him in a low voice, looking a little embarrassed: "Luke, this mission will be very dangerous, far more than anything we have done. I wanted you to know... in case one of us would not come back..." She put an arm around his neck, stroked his cheek with her other hand and then put her face close to his to kiss passionately. She then walked away without a word, while he remained petrified with surprise. A few hours later, she tried to kill him during the mission. Shira Brie!

No, that wasn't possible, she was dead, he had killed her. Not intentionally of course, the Force had warned him of a threat and he had fired. It was only when he returned to the base that he had learned he had shot her down and that his heart was broken. Yet the Force had not deceived him, he had soon found evidence that Shira was an Imperial spy. The Force now told him that she had survived, mutilated and full of hatred. It was Winter's voice that took him out of his inner thoughts.

"Well, the rest is irrelevant. Is something wrong Luke? You look worried!"

"It's this cyborg woman," he replied, "this Lumiya. I think it's Shira Brie."

"Your girlfriend pilot you shot down by mistake before learning she was a spy of the Empire?" Lando wondered.

"Hey, what the hell is that," Han protested, "Luke has a girlfriend nobody told me about?"

"It was more than six months ago, Han," Luke replied, "you couldn't have met her, you were frozen in carbonite, remember?"

"But it's impossible Luke," Leia intervened, "the images of Thorben's fighter camera clearly showed that her cabin had been depressurized. Even with the retention field of her flightsuit, she couldn't have possibly survived."

"She was Vader's pupil, she could have been able to survive thanks to a Force trance, until he found her."

"But at what price! Her limbs must have frozen in the icy void of space."

"Yes, she must hate me now for what I've made her endure."

"You're not responsible Luke, she tried to kill you, that's why the Force told you to shoot her."

"There's something else we must pay attention to," General Madine intervened. "The nomination of this Darth Claria as Supreme Commander indicates that the Empire is preparing a full counterstrike. And they know where we are right now. So I recommend starting evacuating Endor and withdrawing to Arbra."

"I agree with you, General," replied Mon Mothma. "And you Leia, what do you think?"

"It would be wiser, indeed, if the Empire comes back here in full strength, we would be no match for them."

"All right then, I will inform Admiral Ackbar and General Rieekan that we will join Haven base as soon as possible. You are dismissed now. Thanks to you all and especially to you Winter, go back to rest before our departure, you really need it."

* * *

Though he tried to hide it, Leia felt that her brother was deeply disturbed. As they left the meeting, she took him aside.

"Are you really sure it's Shira Brie, Luke?"

"Yes, it's her, I feel it in the Force."

"You were very close, weren't you? Before..."

" Yes, before leaving for that fateful mission, she confessed her feelings and kissed me. At first I felt a little stupid, like when you kissed me on Hoth, remember?"

"Yes, and it's me who's feeling embarrassed now, even if I wasn't serious; I had only done that to annoy Han after his boasting."

"Shira was serious, I felt her passion when she kissed me. I also loved her, but I didn't dare to tell her."

"Oh, I saw you both cooing, that even made me very uncomfortable. I first took it for misplaced jealousy, but now, in hindsight, I think it was something else: something dark within her."

"The Dark Side; blinded by my feelings, I haven't noticed anything. But you felt it, even if you didn't recognize it as such."

"Do you think there's still good in her, just like our father?"

"Yes, Leia, she really loved me, if she hadn't hesitated to shoot because of her feelings, I would be dead now. I should have told her that I loved her too, perhaps I could have brought her back to the light by the strength of our love. Now she must hate me more than anything. But even Vader was finally able to get rid of his hatred, so there's also hope for Lumiya."

"I hope so, Luke. And I'm sorry you had to relive those bad memories. As for Mara Jade, do you think you can save her too?"

"I don't know, I only saw her briefly and I didn't feel the same hatred in her as in Vader or Palpatine. But it was before she chose to follow the ways of the Sith and become Darth Claria. When our paths will cross again, the Force will tell me what to do."

While talking, Luke and Leia had reached the door of Luke's quarters.

"While I think about it, I have something here for you."

Luke entered for a moment into his quarters and came out with a metallic cylinder in his hand.

"A lightsaber?"

"Yes, I made it for you. Here, take it!"

Leia took the lightsaber from her brother's hands. The finely ribbed guard was narrower than the top from which the blade of light emerged and ended with a pommel where the activation button was located. It had obviously been designed for a woman's hand. She activated it and a blue blade sprang in a characteristic whirring. She then made some movements with the blade before turning it off again.

"Thank you very much, Luke, I think it fits my hand better than your saber you lent me for my first training session with the sphere."

"What about trying again with that one?"

"Good idea, we have a few hours in front of us before leaving for Arbra."

* * *

 _Imperial City, Coruscant_

Claria was in a bad mood; the exclusive revelations of Shan Logan and Kaithlin Piell the night before on HNE had spoiled her sleep. She had made a mistake by mocking Lumiya about Vader. She had obviously told everything to Ysanne Isard who had then rushed to repeat it to her muckraking ex-lover. Fortunately, her right arm was now almost cured and she no longer needed to keep it still. She was eager to use it again to wield her lightsaber; she was not as skilled with the left arm.

She was making re-education movements when she felt the Emperor's psychic contact. He asked her to join him in the throne room and take with her the whip she had confiscated from Lumiya.

When she reached the throne room, she noticed that Lumiya was already there with the Emperor. She didn't wear her metallic armor but a simple gray jumpsuit of durasteel fiber and she had replaced her helmet with a triangular cap and a gray scarf she had wrapped around her headdress and the bottom of her face, leaving only the middle around her eyes apparent. Claria spoke to her sarcastically.

"Hello Lumiya, have you changed your look? You're right, it fits you much better, female Vader style is a bit out of fashion."

"I see that in addition to the Dark Side, you're also quite skilled in the spiteful tongue side, Claria! I'd like to point out that my armor suffered damage after our last meeting and that you kept my helmet in addition to my whip."

"Come on, my ladies," the Emperor intervened, "stop these childish disputes; I have sent for both of you so that you may forget this quarrel and work together in the Empire's interest."

"Forgive me, master," said Claria, bowing to the Emperor, "I'm not in a good mood today."

"We'll talk later about what's bothering you, now show me this whip, Lady Claria!"

Claria handed the whip to the Emperor, who seized it.

"A beskar handle and lashes covered with the same metal, very interesting!"

He activated the whip, adjusting the power to the maximum and the energy beams unfolded in a crackling noise. He aimed at a bronze statue in the throne room's hall and cut off its head with one of the energy filaments.

"Very impressive, a rare weapon from a forgotten time. No Sith to my knowledge has ever used a lightwhip since Githany, one of the last Ladies of the ancient Sith Order, more than a thousand years ago. But Lady Githany's whip had only a flexible energy beam while yours combines energy and matter. Where did you find it, Lumiya?"

"I crafted it myself, Your Majesty, from the instructions of a Sith scroll I found on Ziost."

"Did Vador teach you in secret the ancient black language?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, he entrusted me with a holocron, I'm aware that he thus broke the rules of the Sith Order."

She knelt before the Emperor and Claria.

"I beg your pardon for this and for my inappropriate behavior. I recognize Lady Claria as your legitimate apprentice, Lord Sidious, and I renew before you my oath to serve the Empire and the Sith Order."

"I grant you my forgiveness Lumiya," said the Emperor, handing her whip to her, "but in return, you will hand over to me the Sith scroll you found on Ziost."

"Thank you, Lord Sidious, I will bring it to you this evening."

"I also grant you my forgiveness in exchange for the Sith holocron Vador confided to you," Claria said. "Where do you currently live, Lumiya?"

"In an abandoned warehouse in the industrial zone, Lady Claria, a hideout Lord Vader had prepared for me."

"You can settle down at the palace in Vader's old apartments, I have my own quarters and Vader's former palace, so I don't need his quarters here."

"Thank you, Lady Claria, I will be settled there this evening and bring you the holocron."

"You are now dismissed, Lumiya," said the Emperor, "I must speak with Lady Claria in private."

Lumiya returned her whip to her belt and left the throne room. Claria found herself alone with her master.

"Now, tell me what's bothering you, my child."

"Isn't that obvious, master? It's this muckraking journalist who has attacked me and Lord Vader's memory on instruction from Ysanne Isard, his former mistress. She seeks to hurt us to increase her power. What are you going to do about it? How long will you still tolerate this viper who only wants to sleep with you to better stab you in the back?"

"I won't do anything at all, my dear. Shan Logan is irrelevant. Revealing the truth about Anakin Skywalker and his children will do more harm to the Rebel Alliance than to the Empire. The leaders of the local cells will begin to challenge the authority of Vader's children. As for this dear Ysanne, her inclinations for me amuse me to a great extent, and I will neither refrain openly from her, nor accede to her desires. As long as she keeps hoping, she will remain loyal to me. And I won't either put in my bed a woman who has betrayed and executed her own father, powerful Sith Lords have died for having yielded to such weaknesses."

"But we can't let her get away with it! She's going to think she can do what she likes now."

"I don't forbid you to reassert your authority, Lady Claria, but control your anger. Spare her life in exchange for something that will serve you. You're still looking for a command ship, don't you?"

"Are you thinking about the _Lusankya_?"

"Yes, I initially had this Super Star Destroyer buried under the Imperial City so that she could serve as a bunker and emergency evacuation means in case of siege, but I finally authorized Ysanne Isard to install her secret prison there. It seems to me it's about time to restore her to her original vocation, don't you think?"

"But to get her out of there, millions of people have to be evacuated. There will inevitably be victims."

"We will put all this on the Rebellion's account, my dear, as usual. I leave it to you to convince our Director of Intelligence, I sense that you're dying to."

"Yes master, it will be sheer pleasure."

* * *

Claria left the throne room and went directly to Ysanne Isard's office, into which she entered without bothering to announce herself.

"Don't even bother Jade!" Isard called out. "What do you want ?"

Claria raised her right hand and Ysanne felt an invisible fist grasping her throat and lifting her in the air about fifty centimeters. She instinctively put her hands to her neck.

"First of all, that you show me due respect, Director Isard! My name is Darth Claria, in case you would have forgotten."

Ysanne tried to speak but only muffled rattles came out of her mouth. She could no longer breathe and a feeling of panic began to invade her.

"Then you will explain to me what you expected to obtain by letting your former lover reveal the little you know about me and what I told Lumiya about Vader by my own mistake. Were you really thinking you could convince the moffs and admirals to oppose me and the will of the Emperor?"

Ysanne's vision began to blur, she thought she saw a yellow glow light up in Claria's eyes without being able to tell whether it was real or a hallucination due to lack of oxygen. Feeling that she was about to pass out, Claria released the pressure on her trachea while still holding her in the air. Ysanne caught her breath loudly.

"Forgive me, Lady Claria," she said, still breathless, "I wasn't trying to hurt you, I just thought there was no point hiding the truth."

"Don't make fun of me in addition, Isard! I will let you live for this time, but only because the Emperor would be very annoyed having to find a replacement. But don't ever try to challenge my authority again or I'll break your neck."

"Yes, my Lady, I understood."

"Another thing, in exchange for my forgiveness, I want the _Lusankya_!"

"But, she's buried under the city! We'll have to evacuate millions of people and there'll necessarily be victims in the Underground! Not to mention the prisoners we'll have to– Urrghh!"

Claria squeezed her throat again for a few seconds before letting her go and fall back on her seat.

"Come on, Isard, I thought you understood me! You don't have to question my orders, just to obey. You only have to invoke a time bomb placed by rebels along a large pipe of radioactive plasma to justify the evacuation of the area. And don't make me believe you care about the Underground crowd that will ignore the evacuation orders. Then we will activate the ship's shields and she will open herself a passage with turbolaser bolts. The Emperor and I will personally make sure that there will be no witnesses who might contradict the official explanation. Start by making arrangements for the transfer of the prisoners."

"All right, my Lady, I will act according to your orders. To whom do you plan to entrust the ship's command?"

"To Afsheen Makati, he's the only one who inspires me confidence. I would have preferred Thrawn but he's currently in the Unknown Regions, out of reach of the holonet network."

"What a pity this Giel moron lost the Teezl. With such a powerful hyperspatial transmitter, we could have reached Thrawn anywhere."

"Yes, it's a pity indeed. I also charge you to see with Makati the constitution of the _Lusankya_ 's crew. Have a nice day, director Isard."

"You too, Lady Claria."

Claria left Ysanne Isard's office much more relaxed. This day was not that bad, after all.

* * *

 _Notes : The character of Winter was created by Timothy Zahn for his novel **Heir to the Empire**. She was then identified as the daughter of Sheltay Retrac, Bail Organa's assistant who appears briefly in **Revenge of the Sith**._  
 _The scene of the kiss between Shira and Luke and the embarrassment of Leïa about their relationship happens in the comic **Classic Star Wars #61: Screams in the void** (and Shira drawn by Walt Simonson is so cute ;-) )._  
 _The integral armor that Lumiya wears during her duel with Claria only appears in the comic **Classic Star Wars #88: Figurehead**. She then reappears with her lighter outfit in **Classic Star Wars #95: No Zeltrons**._  
 _Finally, the lightsaber that Luke gives to Leïa follows the description of Leia's saber in the comic book adaptation of Timothy Zahn's **Thrawn Trilogy**._


	9. Chapter 9: A game of seduction

_**Roganda Ismaren, the former imperial favorite, meets with Grand Moff Zsinj aboard the**_ **Iron Fist _while Darth Claria takes possession of her new command ship, the_ Lusankya _._**

 _Warning : This chapter contains very dark passages with referenced rape/underage._

 _The character of Roganda Ismaren was created by Barbara Hambly for her novel **Children of the Jedi** and her past was developed by Abel G. Peña in the article **The Emperor's Pawns** published in Star Wars Gamer #5. He subsequently acknowledged that he had to water down his story and the version I give in this chapter corresponds to my personal vision in a realistic and adult way._  
 _I should also point out that I deliberately chose to ignore Roganda's birthdate given by Wookiepedia (-22) as it is only based on Leia's impressions in **Children of the Jedi** and seems to me to be in clear contradiction to her past as described in **The Emperor's Pawns** (a 4-year-old girl who converts to the Dark Side?). I therefore set her birthdate at -30, which gives her 12 years during the events of Belsavis and 34 years at the time of this story._

* * *

 **Chapter 9: A game of seduction**

 _Approaching the Super Star Destroyer_ Iron Fist _, Axxila system_

The shuttle carrying Roganda Ismaren was about to land on the bridge of the Super Star Destroyer _Iron Fist_ , the flagship of the Grand Moff and Warlord of the Empire Zsinj, currently cruising near Axxila, an ecumenopolis similar to Coruscant located in the Outer Rim. Roganda was commissioned by Darth Claria to probe Zsinj's loyalty and intentions, but she was also looking forward on the opportunity to advance her own interests. A small man with a mustache close to his fifties, Zsinj was not particularly attractive and he was known for his exuberance, but his titles as first Warlord of the Empire and Grand Moff of the Quelii Oversector conferred him a great deal of influence.

Zsinj – he had no firstname according to fondorian tradition – was the son of a fondorian engineer and of Maarisa Zsinj, an admiral of the Old Republic Outland Regions Security Force native from Chandrila. As a young man, he had followed his mother's footsteps and served under her command during the Clone Wars. Under Imperial rule, Maarisa Zsinj had been victim of sexist discrimination, and when her command had been withdrawn, she had deserted the Imperial fleet with her ship and embarked on piracy. As an ambitious fleet officer, the young Zsinj was tasked by the admiralty to track down his own mother, a mission he had successfully carried out, since the confrontation between the son and the mother had resulted in the latter's death. As a reward, Zsinj son was the first to receive the honorary title of Warlord of the Empire. But this matricide had not been without consequence on his psyche as he had since shown an eccentric and unpredictable behavior. This, however, did not prevent him from continuing to ascend the ranks of the Imperial hierarchy, up to the title of Grand Moff, and to be entrusted with the command of a Super Star Destroyer he had renamed _Iron Fist_ , as his first ship.

Roganda Ismaren was the younger daughter of two Alderaanian members of the Jedi service corps, her father having served in the agricultural corps and her mother in the medical corps. The service corps welcomed the Jedi initiates who were not deemed worthy to continue their studies as padawans as well as the padawans who failed to become knights. Their members were not subject to the same ascetic rules as knights and were therefore allowed to marry and found a family. Her childhood had been relatively happy with alternating stays on her home planet Alderaan and at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant but her teens had turned into tragedy. The trouble began when Darth Vader, at the head of the five hundred first legion of clones, had sowed death in the Jedi temple. Her parents had perished during the assault but Roganda, her older brother Lagan and other novices had been exfiltered in time by the Hodin Jedi Master Plett. He had led them into exile on the frozen planet Belsavis, in the Outer Rim. There, they had experienced a year of respite, hidden in an outpost near a hot spring that would later be known as Plett's Well.

But the Empire had finally found them. A gigantic automated armored battleship, disguised as an asteroid, the _Eye of Palpatine_ , had been sent to annihilate the colony of Belsavis. If the super-weapon had been successfully disabled by two survivors of the great purge, Geith Eris and Callista Masana, at the cost of their lives; Belsavis had nevertheless been attacked and in the confusion of the evacuation, Roganda and her brother Lagan had been captured by the imperial forces. They had been led before the commander of the expeditionary force, Inquisitrix Ameesa Darys, a former Jedi turned to the Dark Side. She had given them a choice between joining her or dying. Lagan had refused and was immediately executed by Darys who had plunged her lightsaber into his heart under his younger sister's horrified gaze. Roganda had chosen to live and submitted to Darys and the Dark Side. But her nightmare had only just begun: judging her too weak in the Force, the inquisitrix had made her her slave and had given her up to her men to stir up her hatred. Aged twelve and just pubescent, she had been humiliated, raped and beaten many times. She had nevertheless found the strength to survive and during a stopover on an Outer Rim mining planet, to get away from her torturers. Having found herself alone in a hostile environment, she had to fend for survival, indulging in begging, stealing and sexual trading. As she grew up, she had discovered that her sensitivity to the Force allowed her to instinctively know what the men and women she was giving herself to were expecting of her, and she soon learned to manipulate them to her advantage. By the age of eighteen, she had become the most popular prostitute of the mining colony, and had been able to afford lady's clothing and a passage to the Core Worlds.

Arriving on Coruscant, she had used her seductive talents to make herself a place among the elite of the Empire and she soon became one of the most prominent courtesans at the imperial court. She had sought to find out what had happened to Inquisitrix Ameesa Darys, her brother's murderess, and had learned she had been killed four years earlier. She regretted not being able to avenge her brother's death herself and then decided to take revenge, in her own way, from the man who was ultimately responsible for the destruction of her family, Emperor Palpatine himself. By her beauty, her intelligence and an insight into her Force sensitivity, she had begun to seduce him, becoming one of his concubines, and then the official favorite. To offer herself in this way to a powerful Sith Lord was not without risk: if Palpatine did not show himself as frightening in intimacy as in public – he knew how to use the Force to give himself a more attractive appearance – and was of unsuspected vigor for a man his age, he sometimes temporarily lost control of his powers and thus exposed his partner to the raw power of the Dark Side. Roganda had experienced it several times and what she had felt then was beyond any description: a part of herself had screamed in pain and terror while the other part had felt such pleasure time seemed to stop. She had always come out of it with no other sequel than an intense fatigue which took several days to recover from, but she knew that other concubines had not had that chance. A young woman had died atrociously, aging several decades in a few hours as if all vital force had left her body, another had lost her mind and sunk into madness. Roganda's aim was not to attempt to kill the Emperor in his bed but to become pregnant and the mother of an heir to the imperial throne; that was how she hoped to avenge herself. However, Palpatine did not want an heir and was careful not to honor his concubines when they were fertile. She had then associated herself with Sarcev Quest, a Force sensitive agent of the Emperor and a prominent seducer at the court with whom she had conceived a son, Irek. When Palpatine learned of her pregnancy, he wanted to kill her, but Roganda was determined to survive once more. She had begged him to forgive her misconduct and allow her to continue serving him. Fallen from her position as a favorite, she had become one of the Emperor's Hands, charged with seducing and spying on his enemies, and even occasionally killing them. She had returned to Alderaan to give birth to her son and had since then begun to raise him as if he really were the Emperor's son. The destruction of her natal planet gave her an additional reason to pursue her plans for revenge.

When she was traveling, Roganda did not wear as sophisticated hairstyles and dresses as when she showed up at court. Like most Alderaanian women, she never cut her hair and left free, her long silky black hair came to her lower back. Her eyes were as dark as her hair, offering a strong contrast with her very pale skin. Aged thirty-four years, she was still at the height of her beauty, and was often given no more than twenty-five. For this mission, Roganda had tied her hair in a bun on half their length and styled the rest in a braid resting on her right shoulder. She wore a long white dress split on the sides and high-heeled shoes. She knew that Zsinj was fond of feminine underwear and therefore wore black lace lingerie and white silk stockings under her dress.

As Roganda got off her shuttle, she immediately noticed something unusual. In addition to the regular contingents of white-armored imperial stormtroopers, the _Iron Fist_ docking bridge also housed a large number of soldiers wearing black and red armor that she had never seen before. Two of these soldiers were waiting for her at the bottom of the landing ramp as well as an officer whose sight gave her cold sweats at once. The middle-aged man with light hair had his face covered with scars and the nails of his hands resembled sharp metal claws. She tried to discreetly touch the officer's mind with the Force and what she felt then chilled her blood: this man was a fanatic and sadistic pervert.

"Welcome aboard the _Iron Fist_ , Lady Ismaren," said the officer. "I'm General Melvar, Warlord Zsinj's right hand man. Allow me to take you to your quarters."

Roganda thanked the Force that her mission was not to seduce Melvar. She dared not imagine what he could do to her with his claws. The few times when the Emperor had sent her on a mission to such perverts as Admiral Krennel or Lord Cronal, she had to recover in a bacta tank.

"Thank you general, but I don't intend to stay for long," she replied. "Take me immediately to Warlord Zsinj," she added, using Force suggestion.

"I will take you immediately to Warlord Zsinj," replied Melvar in a suddenly more monotonous tone. "Please follow me, ma'am."

Escorted by the two soldiers in armor, Melvar took Roganda to Zsinj's private quarters. He rang the doorbell.

"Lady Ismaren arrived my lord, she wishes to see you immediately."

The door opened.

"Come in, Lady Ismaren, I was waiting for you," invited Zsinj. "Melvar, leave us alone, I don't want to be disturbed under any circumstances."

"Very well, my lord," replied Melvar.

Roganda came in and the door closed behind her. Zsinj, dressed in his Grand Moff gray uniform, was seated in a comfortable leather armchair and another empty armchair was in front of him with a caf table in between.

"Come and sit down, my dear Roganda. Do you want to drink something? I have here a bottle of an excellent wine from Alderaan."

"I hope at least that it's genuine, my lord. It's mindblowing what it circulates as counterfeits nowadays."

"Well, my dear, the fact is that four years after the destruction of your planet, there are very few bottles left in circulation whose prices reach astronomical levels. The temptation of fraud is great. But this one is authentic, I can assure you."

A servant droid brought a bottle and two glasses which he filled with wine. He handed a glass to Roganda and the other to Zsinj. Roganda brought the glass to her lips.

"It's excellent indeed, you've got a very good taste, Warlord Zsinj."

"So, my dear, to what do I owe your charming visit? Does the Emperor want to make sure of my loyalty or ask me to rush over with the _Iron Fist_ and the whole Crimson Command for a massive attack against the Rebel Alliance?"

Roganda did not sit in the chair in front of Zsinj. She put her buttocks on the right armrest of Zsinj's chair and brought her left foot on the other armrest, showing her leg conspicuously.

"In reality, my lord, it's not the Emperor who sends me, but Lady Claria," Roganda said lasciviously. "And she actually wants to make sure of your loyalty."

"Claria sends you, then? But according to my information, you don't seem to like each other very much. As they say, she would even be totally refractory to your charms."

Zsinj was beginning to stroke Roganda's leg. She put her left hand on his shoulder and drank another sip of wine.

"The times are changing, my lord. The days of Palpatine are counted while Darth Claria represents the future."

"I have heard, as you have, of Kadann's prophecy, but hasn't it just been put in default? By this dear Claria in fact!"

"Kadann had other visions that were not made public, my lord. Even when Palpatine escaped from the battle of Endor, he would die sooner or later."

"How do you know that Roganda?"

"The Supreme Prophet is a man like the others: he isn't insensible to my charms. I was able to gather his confidences before his departure in exile. In one of his visions, a Red Lady of the Sith was ascending to the Imperial throne."

"Are you suggesting that Claria could kill Palpatine to take his place? Isn't she entirely devoted to him? She just saved him from death, after all."

"Have you heard of the last revelations about Vader and his hidden children, my lord?"

"Yes, my agents on Coruscant have informed me, I wonder also what Director Isard is all about. But didn't you leave the capital before the show was broadcast, Roganda?"

"Indeed, but I had been informed before by a well placed person in Isard's entourage. I then understood that Palpatine had been willing to sacrifice Vader to convert young Luke to the Dark Side. As The latter refused to submit, he will now go after his sister, Princess Leia Organa."

"That seems logical indeed."

"Claria isn't stupid, she knows that she was chosen only by default and that Palpatine will sacrifice her for the young Leia as he sacrificed Vader."

"But Leia Organa is a novice in the Force, she will be no match for a Sith Lady like Claria."

"If she submits to the Dark Side, my lord, she will have access to a terrifying power. Leia was present on the Death Star when Wilhuff Tarkin ordered the destruction of Alderaan. She was in the front seat to feel in the Force the howls of terror of the two billion lives that died in an instant, starting with those of her adopted family. I felt it myself on Coruscant, as well as my son Irek who wept for hours. If she uses this terror instead of repressing it, she will have the power to wipe out Claria in an instant. I even doubt that Palpatine could control her for long."

"So you think that Claria will choose to confront her master rather than a Leia Organa turned Sith, and that she will then ascend to the throne."

Zsinj now stroked Roganda's thigh, who was beginning to feel aroused. She finished her glass of wine.

"She will don the mantle of Sith mistress, yes, but the throne is another matter. I intend to assert the rights of my son."

"But Irek isn't Palpatine's son, is he? He has no right to the throne."

"What's the matter? We just have to persuade enough influential members of the councils that he's indeed the Emperor's son. And to rely on some powerful arguments, like your army of mercenaries in black and red armor."

"My raptors could support you indeed. But there will be other contenders such as high inquisitors Jerec and Tremayne or procurator Hethrir, powerful Dark Side adepts. And Darth Claria herself, of course. They won't be so easily intimidated."

"Let's oppose them other Dark Side adepts. The Oversector you control includes the planet Dathomir, isn't it? The nightsisters could help us, in exchange for ending the imperial blockade of their planet."

"If you want to negotiate with Mother Gethzerion, I wish you good luck! That old witch is chilling my blood. Palpatine looks like a warm man in comparison."

Zsinj was now stroking her crotch. Roganda felt a wave of pleasure rising inside her.

"Oh yes, my lord, continue like that! Don't forget that Irek is still a minor, if you support his rights to the throne... ooohhh! you, Warlord Zsinj, could become the lover... aaahhh! of the Empire's regent!"

"I think your proposal deserves consideration indeed, my dear friend," replied Zsinj as Roganda yielded to her orgasm.

* * *

 _Imperial City, Coruscant_

According to the instructions given by Ysanne Isard, a whole area of the imperial city of Coruscant, located to the south-east of the central district of the Emperor's palace and the old Senate building, had been evacuated from its population in less than twenty-four hours. The official pretext for this unprecedented evacuation was the discovery of a series of extremely sophisticated and difficult-to-defuse time bombs installed by rebel terrorists along a large underground plasma duct. The explosion of only one of these bombs was likely to cause the whole district to collapse within a radius of more than twenty kilometers and to release a cloud of radioactive vapor. The real reason was to allow the Super Star Destroyer _Lusankya_ , buried under the city for three years, to regain the orbit of the capital planet. The enormous nineteen-kilometer-long vessel had been ground-docked in an immense subterranean structure that had been presented as a planetary shield generator. Underground shuttles connected the buried vessel to various strategic locations in the city to allow Ysanne Isard and her trusted agents to interrogate the prisoners kept in the secret prison that had been set up there. Rumors said in particular that rebel general Jan Dodonna, captured in the assault on Yavin IV four years ago, was kept prisoner there.

After the transfer of the prisoners, a reduced crew, under the command of Grand Admiral Afsheen Makati, had taken place on the ship's bridge while Emperor Palpatine and Darth Claria were preparing, from a south-east oriented balcony of the Imperial Palace, to make a massive use of the Force to camouflage the Super Star Destroyer. Prototypes of invisibility cloaking devices had been developed in military research centers but these were still experimental and installing one on the _Lusankya_ would have been far too long. Also, they could not function simultaneously with the deflector shields that the ship would need to escape without damage from the basement. The best solution was to generate a huge illusion using the Force to make the Super Star Destroyer totally invisible.

At the scheduled time, the ship activated her shields and then her batteries of turbolasers which made the surface of the city collapse above her over an area of more than two hundred and fifty square kilometers. The subluminic engines were then activated as well as the ground dock repulsorlifts in order for the ship to take off. At the same time, Emperor Palpatine and Darth Claria joined their minds in the Force and deflected the luminous rays all around the immense vessel, making it invisible to everyone. It was the first time that Claria made use of the Force on such a large scale and she could certainly not have done it alone. Mental bonding with her master allowed her to be guided while adding his will to hers, together they could not fail. They kept their concentration for several minutes until the ship had reached her intended orbit and then dispelled the illusion to give the impression that the _Lusankya_ had just emerged from hyperspace above Coruscant. At the same time, Ysanne Isard made a statement to the press explaining that one of the bombs had just exploded, causing the collapse of a whole neighborhood that had fortunately been evacuated, which had reduced the number of casualties to a few thousand, mainly underground scums and mine-clearing agents. She assured all the citizens of Coruscant that the rebels would very soon pay for this new act of cowardly and blind terrorism.

* * *

Lumiya had just moved to the Imperial Palace in the private quarters of Lord Vader as Claria had offered. She had found the place very austere and had begun to have it rearranged and to bring back various objects from her hiding place in the industrial zone. She had just installed a small living room with a sofa and holographic projector and was unpacking some paintings she was planning to hang on the walls. She told herself that she should start by having them repainted in a different color from that cold metallic gray when she heard a dull sound and the floor and the walls suddenly shook.

An earthquake on Coruscant? That was very unusual and she did not recall that it happened in recent times. An attack from space then? Equally unlikely, the capital planet was protected by a planetary shield capable of deflecting any bombardment and many cruisers and Golan space stations were in orbit, ready to attack any hostile vessel. It must have been a bomb attack.

She waited for the shaking to calm down, then turned on her holographic receptor on HNE Coruscant. A special program was being broadcast, showing a scene of chaos and destruction: a vast area of the city seemed to have collapsed into the ground, leaving an immense crater of nearly twenty kilometers, the atmosphere was saturated with smoke and dust while the sirens of the police and rescue services who were trying to help the many victims sounded.

" _Here's Kaithlin Piell speaking to you live from the Imperial City. I'm currently on the edge of the area that had been evacuated by the authorities for several hours because of a bomb threat. Less than two minutes ago, a violent explosion occurred, throwing a lot of debris and dust in the air, and I must confess that I thought my last minute had come."_

The young woman was actually covered with dust and scratches. She had a more serious wound on her left arm that a rescuer droid was looking after. Kaithlin Piell was known for often going into the front row to cover the events and this daredevil side had made her one of the stars of the first Imperial news holochannel.

" _The situation here is confused,"_ continued Kaithlin. _"It seems that one of the time bombs that the artificers tried to defuse exploded, causing a chain reaction in the plasma duct and the collapse of a vast area fortunately almost completely evacuated. The rumors circulating speak of a thousand deaths in the collapsed area and tens of thousands of wounded in the periphery. To this sad record must be added the millions of people who have been evacuated and that will now have to be relocated urgently. Today is a sad day for Coruscant and the Empire. Never before had the Rebel Alliance carried out a terrorist operation targeting mainly innocent civilians. But I'm just told now that Director Isard is about to make an official statement and I'm going to get off the air. Back to the studios."_

Lumiya turned off the receiver. A wave of anger, hatred and incomprehension rose in her. Indeed, the Rebel Alliance had never conducted such an operation before. She had never even heard anyone mention the possibility of targeting civilians during the many months she had been infiltrated. Extremists such as Saw Gerrera had been eradicated and the rebels she had known were more dreamy and stupid idealists than bloody terrorists. A horrible doubt seized her: could it be that this attack was a false flag organized by the Imperial intelligence services? She preferred to believe that a new group of radical rebels was responsible but could not rule out the possibility, the precedent of the destruction of Alderaan clearly showed that there were people within the Empire who were capable of that, including perhaps the Emperor himself. She understood that it might sometimes be necessary to sacrifice innocents and weak ones for a higher cause, it was after all one of the foundations of the Sith philosophy. But what higher cause could justify such a scale of destruction? There were hardly any rebel sympathizers on Coruscant, unlike on Alderaan. She must have missed something.

* * *

After resting from the effort provided, Claria took a shuttle to board her new command vessel. The _Lusankya_ was buzzing with squadrons of TIE fighters settling on board and transports that brought men and equipment. She was welcomed on her arrival by Grand Admiral Afsheen Makati himself, a fifty-year-old man with gray black hair who wore the white uniform with golden shoulder pads proper to his rank. Behind him stood Colonel Baron Soontir Fel accompanied by two other pilots from the one hundred and eighty-first fighter wing, recognizable by their gray ceremonial uniforms, with an added red line running from the neck to the wrist of the left sleeve. A young woman wearing an intelligence agent uniform was also present.

"Welcome aboard, Lady Claria," Makati welcomed her, "the _Lusankya_ is at your orders."

"Thanks Admiral, when will we be ready to leave for Endor?"

"It will take about half a day, my Lady, the time to complete the crew, finish testing all systems and regroup the fleet. Allow me to introduce some of your crew, you certainly already know Colonel Fel?"

Soontir Fel greeted her respectfully. He was a fairly large Corellian of thirty-two years, with short black hair and a beard on his chin. He regularly made the headlines of the holonews for his military feats and for having married a famous actress, his compatriot Wynssa Starflare.

"Of course Admiral," replied Claria, "who doesn't know one of the Empire's best pilots? Nice to have you on board, Colonel. I see that you are accompanied by two pilots from your squadron?"

"Yes, my Lady, allow me to introduce to you Major Phennir, codename Saber two, and Captain Davani, Saber five. Both of them distinguished themselves during the Battle of Endor by shooting down several rebel fighters."

Major Phennir, a blond man close to his thirties with an angular face and a scar on his left cheek saluted her without a word. Captain Davani, a young woman of about twenty with brown skin and fairly short black hair, saluted her with a smile and spoke to her.

"It will be a great honor for me to serve under your orders, Lady Claria!"

"I appreciate your enthusiasm, Captain," Claria replied, "and I would like to see more women like you serving in our armed forces."

"In this regard," Makati went on, "I still have to introduce to you Agent Gara Petothel who was selected by Director Isard as our communication and information officer."

The young woman with brown hair of about twenty-five years saluted her bowing. Claria allowed herself to probe her discreetly with the Force. She perceived a complex and fragmented personality, typical of an agent who had been thoroughly trained to adopt and abandon multiple identities for enemy infiltration missions.

"I am honored to serve you, Lady Claria," said Gara Petothel.

"I hope so, Agent Petothel," she replied, "you should know that I'm expecting total loyalty from those who serve under me, and that I may be as merciless as Lord Vader towards those who betray my confidence. If ever Director Isard had given you specific orders likely to conflict with mine, I urge you to forget them without delay."

"I assure you that I have received no such instruction, my Lady."

"If you allow me, Admiral," Fel intervened, "I propose to take Lady Claria to her quarters."

"Please, Colonel," replied Makati. "For my part, I will go back to the bridge, Lady Claria, I will contact you when we're ready to leave for Endor."

"All right, Admiral. Colonel Fel, I follow you."

As Grand Admiral Makati and Agent Petothel were returning to the bridge and the pilots Phennir and Davani were joining the rest of their squadron, Claria followed Colonel Fel along the ship's corridors and turbolifts.

"Have you lost many pilots at Endor, Colonel?" she asked.

"Too many, unfortunately, Lady Claria, but we fought well. It was only after the loss of the _Executor_ that the situation began to turn against us. My squadron was ordered to abort the fight and return to the _Chimæra_ just before the Death Star exploded. Captain Pellaeon informed me that the order of withdrawal had been given to him by Grand Admiral Teshik. We didn't know then that the Emperor had managed to escape thanks to you as well as Makati and Takel on their side, and even less that Teshik was going to sacrifice himself to cover our retreat."

"According to Director Isard, he would have survived and would now be a prisoner of the Rebel Alliance. Nevertheless, Osvald Teshik is a hero of the Empire, he made the right decision and saved many lives, no matter what those who denigrate him because of his cybernetic implants think."

"Implants which were, moreover, the consequence of an already lost battle against the Hapan fleet. I agree with you, my Lady, the Empire needs more men and women of honor like him."

"Are you ready then to give a good lesson to the rebels and erase the defeat at Endor?"

"Of course, my Lady. But to tell the truth, I don't expect that we'll find them still at Endor, if they're not stupid, they'll have anticipated our counter-attack and will have withdrawn to a safer place. That's what I'd have done in their place, anyway. By the way, how in the nine hells of Corellia did you manage to convince Ysanne Isard to give you the _Lusankya_?"

"I can be very persuasive, Colonel."

"I suppose you used Force arguments? I'd have liked to see that!"

"Indeed, I haven't really left her any choice. It was my price to forget the leaks to her ex-lover journalist and let her live."

"Let's hope she will remember the lesson. And what Logan revealed about Lord Vader, Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa, is it true for you?"

"Yes, it's true, I heard it from Vader and Skywalker in person, on the Death Star. And it's partly my fault that Isard learned it. But let's talk about something else, Colonel, how are your wife and children?"

"They're fine, my Lady, Wynssa is currently in our property on Corellia with our two young sons, Davin and Chak. She's resting between two shootings and can take care of the children. We see them all too rarely, but it's necessary for their safety."

Claria had met Wynssa Starflare when she was only twelve years old. As part of her training, the Emperor had sent the young Countess Claria to take drama courses and there she met Wynssa Starflare, who at the age of twenty-five was already a recognized actress. They had sympathized and eventually became friends and confidantes. Claria was one of the few people to know the real name of Wynssa, Syal Antilles, and her relationship to one of the best rebel pilots. Conversely, Wynssa knew that Claria's actual name was Mara Jade and that she was not a mere courtesan or dancing girl but a special agent in the Emperor's service. She was, of course, invited to Wynssa's marriage three years ago with Baron Soontir Fel, a highly publicized event. And she was one of the few people to know about the two young sons of the couple, secretly raised on Corellia to protect them from their enemies, especially Director Ysanne Isard. She knew that Isard had vainly tried to seduce Fel a year ago.

"Send my friendship to Wynssa when you have the opportunity to talk to her, Colonel."

"I shall do so, Lady Claria. She was already very happy to hear that you have been promoted to Lord Vader's position."

"If she knew what it really involved, she wouldn't probably be so happy Colonel. I'm not only the Emperor's new assistant, I'm also a Sith Lady, a follower of the Dark Side of the Force. I hope I can use it for the good of all, but I'm not sure I can do it. I fear that this power will eventually dominate me and twist my soul."

"You're afraid of becoming cold and ruthless as Vader was, aren't you? I have only one advice to give you, Claria: above all, continue to believe in honor, justice and our friendship. But we have reached your quarters, I shall now leave you."

"Thank you for coming with me. And above all, Soontir, if Ysanne Isard still came to make indecent proposals to you or threatened to attack your family, please tell me. You and Syal are made for each other and I won't let this viper get between you."

"Thank you... Mara, I will remember."

Claria smiled on hearing him use her old name. From someone else, it would have been blatant lack of respect but from Soontir Fel, it was a mark of sincere friendship, a rare and precious commodity. By choosing the ways of the Sith, she knew that she also chose solitude and that most of her relationships would be based on fear and not trust. But above all, she refused to give free rein to chaos and destruction. Like Soontir Fel, she still believed in an Empire enforcing order and justice.

* * *

 _Notes : I would like to dedicate this chapter to the memory of Aaron Allston, creator of the character of Gara Petothel for his series of X-Wing novels **Wraith Squadron** , **Iron Fist** and **Solo Command** , who left us far too early. May the Force be with him forever and ever!_  
 _Zsinj and Melvar were created by Dave Wolverton for his novel **The courtship of Princess Leia** and also appear in Aaron Allston's X-Wing novels._  
 _Finally, the friendship bond between Mara and the Fel family evoked in this chapter is a personal invention that does not exist in the Star Wars Legends canon._


	10. Chapter 10: Aborted counterstrike

_**The Imperial Fleet returns to Endor under Darth Claria's leadership, but the rebels have already evacuated the scene and only the Ewok natives will suffer the anger of the new Sith Lady.**_  
 _ **Claria and Lumiya then begin to have strange dreams during their sleep.**_

 _ **Members of the Ewoks protection league may be shocked by this chapter, though those who found Claria too cool for a Sith should be delighted. ;-)**_

* * *

 **Chapter 10: Aborted counterstrike**

 _Super Star Destroyer_ Lusankya _, approaching the Endor system_

While the _Lusankya_ and the massive fleet that had been gathered were traveling in hyperspace, Claria had gone to the training room. Her right arm was now completely healed and she had no difficulty in deflecting the training droids' shots with her lightsaber. After a good hour of physical exercise, she went back to her quarters to cool off and then resumed the study of the Sith holocron that Lumiya had given her the day before. She was still deeply absorbed in it when her comlink rang:

"Lady Claria, Makati here. I would like to inform you that we'll arrive at Endor in ten minutes."

"Thank you Admiral, I'll join you right away on the bridge. Let the fighters stand ready to take off as soon as we arrive."

She closed the holocron, put her black cloak back on her shoulders and left her quarters to join the bridge. The _Lusankya_ emerged from hyperspace above the forest moon of Endor a few minutes later, soon followed by the rest of the Imperial fleet. No rebel activity was immediately perceptible, no ship in sight nor on long range scanners, no communication signal from the moon. The only traces of the battle that had taken place a week ago were a ring of debris in the stationary orbit and forest fires still active on the moon where fragments of the Death Star had fallen to the ground. Claria had read scientists' reports explaining that the implosion of the central hypermatter reactor had opened a vortex in hyperspace in which the bulk of the station's mass had been sucked in and that only its outer layers had been dispersed in realspace. This was the reason why the surface of the moon had remained habitable and the space above navigable. A few squadrons of TIE fighters, including Colonel Fel's Saber squadron, were deployed to fly over the surface of the moon in search of traces of rebel presence.

" _Lusankya_ , Saber leader here," called Fel using his recognition code. "We flew over the moon but found no trace of rebel presence apart from barracks that seem to be abandoned in a clearing about thirty kilometers from the destroyed field generator."

"It seems that you were right colonel," replied Claria, "the rebels have withdrawn elsewhere. Admiral Makati, you can call back the fighter squadrons."

She then turned to General Maximilian Veers, who had successfully led the assault on the rebel Echo base on Hoth a year ago and who, assigned to another mission, was not present during the first battle of Endor. He had been reassigned to the _Lusankya_ and had gone on board with his troops shortly before leaving Coruscant.

"General Veers, prepare your troops for a surface landing. Even though there seems to be no one, we have to go and explore these barracks to make sure that the rebels have left no clue that could lead us to their secret base."

"At your orders, Lady Claria."

General Veers left the bridge to reach the main hangar of the Super Star Destroyer while the TIE fighter went back on board. A Y-85 Titan disembarkation ship then took off with four AT-AT walkers on board which she deposited near the former rebel base. Some time later, General Veers made his report by holocom.

"As you had foreseen, Lady Claria, the base is abandoned. We searched it but found nothing interesting. All the computer equipment was either carried away or destroyed. I don't think there's anything here that can lead us to their current base."

"Thanks General, leave a reduced garrison to retake possession of this moon in the name of the Empire and go back on board."

"With all due respect, my Lady, I don't think it wise to leave only a reduced garrison. We had some clashes with native Ewoks who tried to attack our walkers with ropes and stones. We also had to shoot several of them inside the barracks after they attacked our men."

"Those are the same primitives who helped the rebels to defeat the elite troops protecting the field generator. You're right, general, leave two walkers and half your men there. We'll show these stupid furballs what it costs to defy the Empire."

"At your orders, my Lady."

"Admiral Makati, you will fire at all the Ewok villages within a five-hundred kilometer radius of the old field generator with your turbolasers. I want them all reduced to ashes, make these savages pay the price for supporting the rebels."

"I am delighted about it, Lady Claria! I heard that they had eaten many of our men outright, so it's only justice to exterminate them."

The _Lusankya_ turbolasers came into action, the powerful rays striking various points in the forest that covered the moon, lighting up so many fires. With each new village reduced to ashes with its inhabitants, Claria felt exhilarating pleasure. She rendered justice in the name of the Emperor and for the soldiers who had died here the week before. She felt the power of the Dark Side strengthen inside her.

"Admiral, when we have recovered General Veers and the half of his men who don't stay in garrison here, head back to Coruscant, we have nothing more to do here. I'll be in my quarters."

"All right, my Lady."

Claria left the bridge. In the ship's corridors, she noticed that the crewmen she was crossing lowered their eyes in front of her or looked at her with fear. It was not until she reached her quarters that she understood why as she saw her face in the mirror: her eyes now shone with a yellow glow, she had Sith's eyes. She then took back the holocron and continued to study the old black language during the return journey.

* * *

 _Imperial City, Coruscant_

Back on Coruscant, Claria was relieved to find that her eyes had reverted to their usual green color. The change of color was therefore not permanent, for the moment at least, and only occurred when she plunged herself into the Dark Side. At first, she went to the Imperial Palace to report to the Emperor. He was not surprised to learn that the rebels had left Endor and was very pleased that she had a large number of Ewok villages destroyed. He remembered that Grand Admiral Thrawn had warned him about these primitive savages when Endor had been chosen as the place of construction for the second Death Star. He should have listened to him then and have them all exterminated. He then entrusted his young apprentice with a new mission to find the secret base the Rebel Alliance had retreated to and to destroy it by all necessary means.

She then went to Lord Vader's former palace, escorted by a squad of stormtroopers who now formed her personal guard. The palace, which now belonged to her, was a large tower not far from the Imperial Palace. It was also possible to go from one building to the other by a protected skywalk. Along the way, she met a team of HNE reporters, led by well-known interviewer and presenter Kaithlin Piell, who, although wounded in the arm during the collapse caused by the _Lusankya's_ takeoff, was always on the move. She was even bold enough to question her outright.

"Lady Claria? Kaithlin Piell for HNE, may I ask you for a quick update of the situation on your return from the Endor system? Is it true that the rebels have left the system? Do you have any idea where they were able to retreat?"

Claria had to refrain from silencing this insolent journalist with the Force. Lord Vader would certainly have done so, but she had every interest in maintaining good relations with the press, her position was still too fragile to allow herself alienating an important opinion maker whose courage and professionalism were praised by everyone. She took it upon herself to reply in a civilized manner.

"Yes, Ms. Piell, I can confirm that we have encountered no resistance except for a few skirmishes with the primitive local natives. The Endor system is back under imperial control. As to knowing where the rebels have retreated, the Emperor has entrusted me with the task of discovering and annihilating them once and for all."

"And what can you say to the millions of inhabitants of the city neighborhood that was destroyed by this despicable bombing attack and who are currently relocated to temporary camps or orbital cities?"

"The Empire will not forget them. The site is being cleared by autonomous earthmoving droids and the neighborhood will be rebuilt identically as soon as possible. Within a few months, all refugees should be able to move in again."

"Thank you, Lady Claria, I wish you a good day."

"You too, my dear."

She then continued on her way to her new palace. The interior was very simply laid out, most of the furniture was of greel wood and there was no decoration on the walls. Claria told herself that she should have it remade in a style better suited to a Sith Lady. The only curiosities were Vader's hyperbaric chamber, the only place where he could remove his armor and which she had no use of, and his personal collection of Sith artefacts which, on the other hand, was of the utmost interest to her. So she had ordered as soon as she returned that a room on the floor where the Sith objects were stowed was arranged for her. There she found a holocron and several books and scrolls dealing with Sith history and culture and began to study them. She was still plunged into it when, at the beginning of the evening, the sergeant commanding her escort came to inform her of a visit:

"Lady Claria? Forgive me for disturbing you but Lady Ismaren is here. She says you asked her to come and see you when she returned to Coruscant."

"Yes, that's right, sergeant, let her in."

Roganda Ismaren stepped into the room. She still wore her traveling dress and hairstyle, a sign that she had actually just come back.

"Good evening, Lady Claria, I was told at the Imperial Palace that I could find you here. I come to report to you as you have requested."

"Come sit down Roganda and tell me everything."

As she approached to sit down, Roganda could not help noticing the objects that Claria was studying:

"Oh, I see that you're studying Sith artifacts, my Lady?"

"Yes, indeed, a Sith Lady must know the ancient language and the millennial culture of the order of the Dark Side. Are you interested, Roganda?"

"Oh yes, my Lady, I'm well aware that I'll never be strong enough in the Force to become a Sith Lady like you, but the language, history and culture of the Sith fascinates me. Do you know that one of the most powerful Sith Ladies who ever existed was a Theelin named Darth Phobos who lived several thousand years ago and was venerated as a goddess long after her death?"

"I actually heard her name in the chronicles but I didn't know that she had been the subject of such a cult. But tell me about your mission to Warlord Zsinj."

"You were right not to trust him, Lady Claria. He has assembled a large army of mercenaries in black and red armor which he calls _raptors_ and which are entirely devoted to him. I don't think he will try anything as long as Emperor Palpatine is alive, but he was aware of Kadann's prophecy and was preparing to position himself as an independent warlord in the event it had come true. And his right hand man, General Melvar, is a scum of the worst kind: fanatic, crook, murderer and sadistic pervert. He gave me cold sweats as soon as I saw him, he's a very dangerous man."

"Thank you, Roganda, may I ask you a more personal question?"

"Of course, my Lady, what do you want to know?"

"On the last Empire Day, you tried to seduce me, remember? Were you acting on the orders of Director Isard?"

"Can I answer you frankly, Lady Claria?"

"Yes, tell me the truth, I won't harm you."

"I like you, my Lady, you're very beautiful. I've always been attracted to women as much as to men. But it's also true that Ysanne Isard had asked me to seduce you and try to obtain information about your past. As you seemed to show no interest in her best male charming agents, she thought, and I, too, that you might be lesbian."

"On this point both of you were heavily mistaken, I simply felt through the Force for what purpose her agents were courting me and I decided to dismiss them. I love men, Roganda, but only if they please me, take an interest in me without any second thought and without seeking true love. Those who meet these criteria are very few, I think I can count my nights of love on the fingers of one hand. As the Sith creed says: _passion is strength, but attachment is weakness_. I must accept that my life will essentially be made of loneliness."

"I understand, my Lady, and I apologize for offending you."

"Let's forget that, will you? This shouldn't prevent us from working together in the interest of the Empire. But I have another question for you. You've long been my master's favorite and you continue to serve him as a Hand and even occasionally as a mistress, don't you? And yet I know you don't love him. What drives you to continue serving him? Fear?"

"No, my Lady, I don't love him. On the contrary, I hate him for what happened to my family and my native planet. But if I continue to serve him, it's not out of fear, it's out of admiration, for his power in the Dark Side. I love that power, but I don't have enough strength in the Force to feel it fully by myself. When he's satisfied with my services, he allows me, by a physical or mental union, to share a little of his power. It's a unique experience to feel the power of the Dark Side in ones mind or body, an ecstasy unlike any other. For that, I'm ready to do whatever he will require of me. As the Sith code says: _through strength, I gain power, through power, I gain victory and through victory, my chains are broken_."

"Yes, I know how much the Dark Side can be exhilarating. But when you fail to satisfy him, what happens?"

"In this case, I'm punished for my failure."

Roganda lowered the right side of her dress, revealing her shoulder. On her alabaster skin, Claria saw fine scars she recognized without difficulty: these were the marks left by Force lightning. She had herself been punished in this way on a few occasions during her apprenticeship as a Hand and she knew how painful it was. At the time, she had been convinced her master was acting for her good and took no pleasure in it. She was not so sure now that she had seen his true face.

"Yes, our master can be cruel, I have experienced it myself. But why put yourself in my service now? You know I won't reward you by offering to share my bed, so what do you expect from me in return? That I teach you the ways of the Dark Side? That I make you my future apprentice?"

"No, my Lady, not me, I know that I'm not worthy of it. But my son is strong in the Force, far more than I ever will be. I hope one day he could become a Sith Lord."

"Well, I'm far from being able to think of taking an apprentice myself, but I promise you that I will keep an eye on your son and that I will follow his progress in the Force."

"Thank you, my Lady. I'll leave you now and go see him. Good night, Lady Claria."

"Good night to you too, Roganda."

That night, Claria's sleep was agitated. She dreamed and saw herself on the balcony of the Imperial Palace. The _Pliada di am Imperium_ and the Glitannai Esplanade were filled with people. She was wearing a long dark red dress with a train held by two ladies of honor behind her. This dress was embroidered with gold and silver threads that drew Sith symbols. Her hair was tied in a bun with a gold brooch, and her forehead was girded with a magnificent diadem of gold and silver adorned with precious stones, of which a very beautiful Kaiburr crystal of green color. Her face seemed ageless and her eyes shone with a bewitching yellow glow. The immense crowd cheered her, chanting: "Long live the Empress Claria."

Her vision changed and a woman with blond-chestnut hair dressed in the black robe of the Sith and holding a double-bladed sword appeared to her. She recognized Darth Zannah she had seen by studying the historical holocron of Vader, the apprentice of Lord Darth Bane and first Lady of the Reformed Sith Order who lived a thousand years before. She spoke to her in her dream:

" _Claria! Darth Claria! I'm Zannah, first Lady of the Rule of Two. The Dark Side has chosen you, Claria, to ensure the continuity of our order. You will reign on the Galaxy and your daughter will bear my name._ "

The vision changed again. Claria found herself lying on a bed in the medical center of the palace, surrounded by medical droids, giving birth. She woke up brutally and instinctively carried her hand to her belly.

"A daughter," she murmured, "Princess Zannah Jade!"

Was it a mere dream or a vision of the future that the Force sent her? And if it wasn't a dream, who would be the father of her daughter? She was a Sith and if sexuality was not forbidden to her, attaching herself to someone and founding a family would be an inexcusable weakness. She will have to try to find answers. Should she talk about this dream to her master? No, certainly not, if he knew she might oust him, he would get rid of her as soon as possible; she had to hide it from him, at all costs.

* * *

In her new apartment in the Imperial Palace, Lumiya also had restless sleep. She first dreamed of past events: the kiss exchanged with Luke, the icy cold of space that had almost killed her, her secret Sith baptism by Darth Vader, her lost duel against Darth Claria, her night of love with Jix.

Then these simple memories faded and were replaced by a much more troubling vision: a woman appeared to her, young, athletic, with a tanned skin and long black hair. She wore a black tattoo on her forehead, goldrings to her ears, a red cape and held in her hand a lightwhip whose unique red filament was waving around her. She looked at her with a charming smile before talking to her:

" _Lumiya, listen to me! I'm Lady Githany, dead for over a thousand years for not wanting to see that Lord Kaan's folly led the brotherhood of the Sith to its destruction. Today, again, the Sith are led by a Dark Lord whose thirst for power borders on madness and sheer excess. Sidious's obsession with eliminating the last of the Jedi almost led to the extinction of the Sith, only the intervention of Claria prevented the worst. You must ally with her, Lumiya, temporarily at least, until you have an opportunity to eliminate Sidious. If you play well, you may have the opportunity to take your revenge and become the new mistress of the Sith!_ "

With these last words, she winked at her and the vision disappeared. Lumiya awoke with a start. What Githany had just told her in a dream gave her a deep sense of uneasiness, awakening her fears and anxieties. The first light of dawn had begun to brighten the skies of Coruscant and she knew she could not go back to sleep. She got up, put on an indoor suit and went into the living room. She took a bottle of corellian whiskey, sat down on the couch and began to serve herself a first drink.

She thought about Luke. Why had she fallen in love with him? If only he had responded to her kiss instead of just standing there speechless. If he had asked her, she would have gone with him away from all this, they would have settled somewhere on a distant planet to found a family. But fate had been cruel with her and the Force had abandoned her. All she had left was her hatred and pain. As tears ran down her cheeks, she began to drown her grief in alcohol.

* * *

 _Note_ _: The ancient Sith Zannah and Githany that our heroines see in their dreams appear in Drew Karpyshyn's **Darth Bane trilogy**._


	11. Chapter 11: Two ladies and a bottle

_**Claria visits Lumiya to interrogate her on the Rebel Alliance secret base. Lumiya has a little forced on corellian whiskey and will be particularly talkative and cooperative. Together, they develop a plan to trap the rebels.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 11: Two ladies and a bottle**

The next morning Claria returned to the Imperial Palace. Her priority was to find a way to locate the secret base of the Rebel Alliance and she knew only one person who could provide it: Lumiya, who as Shira Brie, had spent several months undercover within the Alliance. So she went to the apartment she had given her at the palace and rang at the door. Lumiya came to open her about twenty seconds later, she was wearing a neglected blue indoor outfit, her hair was disheveled and her breath stank of alcohol.

"Ah, it's you Lady Claria," she welcomed her all smiling. "Enter, enter! Make yourself at home."

"I don't bother you too much, I hope?"

"No, no, please sit in the living room and don't pay attention to the mess, I started to have all that reinstalled. As you said yourself, Vader style doesn't suit me," she added, laughing.

Claria entered and saw that the apartment was indeed being resettled. Vader occupied it very rarely, since he usually lived in his own palace and there was initially only a minimum of furniture: a bed, a table, some chairs and no wall decoration. Lumiya had the walls repainted in blue, hung a mirror and some reproductions of paintings. Other objects were still waiting to be unpacked in containers laid here and there. She had arranged a small living room with a sofa, two armchairs, a caf table and a holographic projection system. On the caf table stood a bottle of Corellian whiskey, already well underway, and an empty glass.

"You're drunk, Lumiya!" Claria remarked.

"Yesss! Ya see, Claria, one of the few advantages of my present condition is that I can drink until rolling myself out and then wake up after a few hours, fresh and well. No more hangovers! What I miss most is the food, can't swallow anything solid, must feed on tasteless proteinated drinks, so to compensate, I get drunk! By the way, how's your arm going?"

"Much better thank you, I just have a scar that I may keep some time."

"Still sorry, eh. When I learned about Vader's death, I found myself completely nutty, I even restarted smoking deathsticks. But I stopped again, smoke detectors are too sensitive here," she added laughing.

"You drink and smoke! Is it fit for an Emperor's Hand?"

"Oh, come on! Are we Sith not supposed to give free rein to our passions? As the Sith code says: _passion gives me strength!_ "

"I'm the Sith Lady, Lumiya, don't forget it. You pledged me allegiance!"

"You're Sith Lady in title, Claria, I recognize that. But I'm Sith in soul myself, and was renamed by Lord Vader just as you were by Lord Sidious. So, wanna a drink?"

Claria hesitated a moment, but as Lumiya was in a good mood, she had an interest in playing the game and being friendly, so she would have the information she needed more easily.

"Okay, Lumiya, I'll drink with you, but in moderation. I want to keep my head clear."

Lumiya brought another glass and Claria poured herself a little whiskey. Lumiya poured herself generously another glass. They both sat on the sofa.

"Have you been smoking and drinking like this for a long time, Lumiya?"

"Oh, I started at the academy, with my friend Myrette! Myrette Davani. Had to keep up the pace. Good old Rette, she's got a quick one! Must say that she's from Beheboth, one of those Outer Rim dustballs where it's easier to find alcohol than fresh water," she laughed. "Once, shortly before graduation, we both went slumming to the town in a good old cantina crawl. Well, I cheated a little bit with the Force to get drinks for free, see what I mean. How we got drunk that night! Next morning, I had a hangover, tell you not. I felt like a bantha herd had settled in my head, fortunately we had a two days leave. But Myrette, she had only a slight headache, on that point she was better than me. Afterwards, I went into the intelligence services and stopped drinking and smoking, had no choice. I never saw Rette again, was not allowed to keep contacts. I wonder what she could have become!"

"Well, I met a Captain Davani on the _Lusankya_ , a pretty girl with fairly short black hair and caf-colored skin. She served as Saber Five in Colonel Fel's squadron."

"Yesss, it's her! Kriff! Baron Fel's one hundred eighty-first fighter wing, how classy! Her parents must be proud of her! I met them, ya know! After our first three years at the Coruscani Pilot Institute and before our last year at the Academy of Carida, she invited me to her parents' farm for a few weeks. They are nice but a little rednecks, her mother found me snob with my Coruscanti manners, no, do you realize? But well, I felt good with them, was the only time in my life I had a glimpse of what family life could be. Anyway, I won't bother you by telling you about my life either, Lady Claria."

"You don't bother me, Lumiya, but if I came to see you, it's because the Emperor has just charged me to find the secret base of the Rebel Alliance. You spent several months as Shira Brie in the Alliance and you can probably help me. You were on the planet that served them as headquarters, didn't you?"

"Yesss, I was there, but I don't know where it is. It's coordinates were top secret and only the bosses of the Alliance, like that lovely bastard Luke Skywalker, knew them. We called it Haven Base and the planet Arbra, but that's not its real name. They named it so because it's just a kriffin' planet covered with trees. And there's not a tooka in the whole system, it's desolate. The only indigenous creatures on Arbra are small white furry beasts with big eyes and ears, the Hoojibs. But they're not stupid, they're intelligent, even telepaths. In addition, they feed on energy and if you're not careful, all the equipment is found dead, including droids and blasters. These creatures have a leader, or rather a spokesmind, called Plif, funny name eh? Well, it's with him that Princess Leia negotiated the installation of the Alliance headquarters in their geothermal cave. But that doesn't tell us where this damn planet is. I was still able to triangulate on the travel times that it was in the Outer Rim, somewhere between Omwat and Beheboth."

"That still leaves us a good million systems to explore, it's way too long. What we need is an on-site agent and a way to communicate with him."

"Maybe I can provide the agent, a Corellian scoundrel who worked for Vader before, Wrenga Jixton, Jix for friends. I recruited him in my service a few days ago. Nice guy, intelligent, handsome and in addition he kriffs so well!"

"Wait, you slept with him, Lumiya? Using the Force to seduce him, I imagine?"

"No, but who do you take me for? Well, I wore make-up of course; scars on the face, that's not great for flirting. But all women make themselves beautiful to seduce, right? Then I had to admit to him I had artificial limbs and a cybernetic girdle, but my feminine attributes are all the most authentic. And that didn't stop him from making love to me, I had an awesome night, like it hadn't happened to me since the Academy. You should also try it, Claria, it would be good for you, you take this Sith Lady business far too seriously!"

"I'll put your impertinence on account of alcohol, Lumiya, but don't push it too far!"

"Oh, you're not funny, can't even joke!"

"I can understand that you needed comfort after all the trials you went through, Lumiya, but if you want to show yourself worthy of your late master, you must draw your strength from the Dark Side and not from alcohol, drugs or sex. You acted like a Sith when you tried to kill me and you almost succeeded. It was an action worthy of the Dark Side and that's why I forgave you and even, I henceforth would like you to work for me."

This last proposal triggered a brief burst of laughter in Lumiya. She emptied her glass before answering.

"Wait Claria, you want me to become your apprentice? In violation of the Rule of Two? What will your master think?"

"Not my apprentice, it's too early, let's say my assistant. You will act under my orders. The Emperor will see no inconvenience as long as I don't give you Sith teachings."

"May I ask you a question, Lady Claria?"

"I'm listening."

"Have you ever been afraid of becoming like him? Sidious. Cold, manipulative, incapable of feelings other than anger and hatred, imbued with power up to madness, sheer excess and self-destruction. Without your intervention, the Sith would have been destroyed, the millennial work of Bane, Zannah and their successors reduced to nothing, leaving unworthy followers like us fighting to pick up the master's mantle and start all over again. Sidious wanted to bend the Dark Side to his own will and destroy the Jedi to the last, but he failed. I believe the Force won't allow one of the sides to win. Sidious, Vader, you and I, we all tried to kill Luke Skywalker and we failed. The Force doesn't want the last of the Jedi to die."

"Some believe indeed that the two sides of the Force can't exist without the other. And I also think sometimes that Sidious goes too far. But he's my master and I must obey him, until I'm strong enough to challenge him."

"We could challenge him together," Lumiya offered with a sly smile.

"No!" Claria answered in shock, "that would be against the rule, it would weaken the Sith!"

"Yes, you're right, forget it, it was stupid. However, I accept your proposal to be your assistant."

"Well, for starters, you'll help me locate the rebel base. Try to sober up Lumiya, then come and introduce me to your friend. I will think about a way to infiltrate him within the rebels and see if we can provide him with a transmitter that is undetectable."

"Okay, I'm gonna take a little nap and then I'll try to get my hands on Jix."

"I'll be waiting for you both at my office in the early afternoon. See you later."

* * *

After Claria's departure, Lumiya went back to bed and slept for a few hours. When she woke up at the end of the morning, as she had said, every trace of alcohol had disappeared from her body. She fed herself with her usual energy drink, took a sanisteam and dressed. She slipped on her gray suit, boots and the belt to which her whip was attached. She put on her triangular headdress, her gray scarf, and a black cape on her shoulders. She then went out of her apartment, took her speederbike and headed down to Coruscant Underground towards the bar where she had met Jix a few days earlier. Not finding him in the bar, she went directly to his apartment across the street and knocked on the door. Ten seconds later, Jix came to open it. He was shirtless and wearing only pants and appeared to have slept all morning. He did not recognize her immediately, it is only when he looked into her eyes that he smiled.

"Oh, it's you Lumiya, I didn't recognize you with this veil, please come in!"

Lumiya entered and removed her scarf and her headdress. She had not put on makeup and her scars were visible this time. But Jix continued to smile at her and gently stroked her cheek with his hand.

"I'm not as attractive natural, isn't it?" She told him.

"It doesn't matter darling," he replied, "your beauty, you carry it in your heart. How can I help you today?"

"I reconciled with Claria. The Emperor instructed her to find the base where the rebels retreated and she solicited my help, since I spent a little time on this planet. I know they call it Arbra but I don't know its exact coordinates, I could just determine that it was somewhere between Omwat and Beheboth."

"That leaves a lot of margin indeed, enough to spend years, even with the entire fleet."

"Claria wants to infiltrate an agent with the rebels who could help us locate them and I thought of you, Jix. You have never met the main leaders of the Alliance, have you?"

"I just met Luke Skywalker on Tatooïne as I told you, but I've only seen him from a distance, there's no reason for him to recognize me."

"Perfect, she would like to see both of us at the palace to set up an action plan, you're with me?"

"I'm in of course, after this terrible attack which has caused so many victims, it's time to get rid of those rebel scums. But do we need to go right away?" he added with a mischievous smile.

She dared not admit to Jix she had doubts about the real responsibles for this tragedy. He didn't need to know. On the contrary, if he were persuaded of the rebels' guilt, he would only be more zealous in carrying out his mission. And as for his implicit proposal to have a good time before going to see Claria, she was quite delighted about it.

"No, I think we can give ourselves an hour or two," Lumiya replied, putting her arms around Jix's neck and her lips on his.

* * *

In the early afternoon, Lumiya and Jix returned together to the Imperial Palace. They were told that Lady Claria was at her Supreme Commander's office and they went to join her. She was there with a female intelligence agent.

"Hello again Lumiya," Claria said, "come in and take a seat, and you too, Mr Jixton."

"Please call me Jix, my Lady, I worked previously for your predecessor, Lord Vader."

"Yes, Lady Lumiya told me about it. Let me introduce to you Agent Gara Petothel of the intelligence services."

"Pleased to meet you, Lady Lumiya, and you too, Jix," she said, shaking hands with them. "I was just explaining to Lady Claria that our services have developed a new miniaturized hyperspatial transmitter prototype. It's small enough to be concealed – for example – in a standard energy cell and is totally undetectable. It must be connected to a real energy cell in order to be able to transmit or receive, alone it's totally inert. Of course, the range is limited, of the order of a hundred parsecs, but it's generally sufficient to reach a holonet relay. I think this should suit you Jix, you could just put the transmitter in one of your blasters and everyone will take it for an spent energy cell."

"So it's settled for the communication," said Lumiya, "but we still have to make him contact the rebels and make sure that they trust him enough to take him with them on Arbra. It took me months to get transferred there and I had an excellent cover story."

"You told me that your classmate Myrette Davani is from Beheboth, isn't she?" said Claria, "and that you have met her parents? And we know that Arbra is close to Beheboth. We could send a holonet text message to Davani's parents, posing as their daughter, a message announcing – for example – that the Empire will install an important military base on their planet. As an elite pilot's parents, they will certainly circulate information that will not fail to reach the local contacts of the rebellion. These will inform their headquarters and they will send someone to investigate."

"I can take care of sending the false message my Lady," Gara Petothel intervened, "slicing into computer systems is one of my specialties."

"No, it's up to me to do it," Lumiya replied, "I was in the services like you before being wounded on a mission and I have the necessary skills. Besides, I knew Captain Davani quite well and I would have no trouble posing as her."

"All right Lumiya, send the message. You and Jix will then leave for the Beheboth system aboard one of our cruisers that will discreetly monitor traffic to the planet. I bet that we will soon see an X-wing fighter or even the _Millennium Falcon_."

"And I guess I should then get in touch with the rebels, my Lady?" asked Jix.

"Since you are a Corellian like Captain Solo, Jix, the best would be for the rebels to send the _Falcon_. We could then stage a little skirmish between a corellian pirate ship and our cruiser. You would get into an escape pod for Captain Solo to bring you back on board. If you can prove yourself persuasive enough, he may take you directly to Arbra."

"It's a good plan indeed," Jix replied. "At worst, they will drop me on another planet in the area and I could always try to leave the transmitter on board in sneaker mode so you can spot them."

"So, everything is settled. Lumiya will send the false message, Agent Petothel will provide you with the transmitter and I will immediately notify Captain Pellaeon to put the _Chimæra_ at your disposal."

Claria stood up and turned on the real-size holographic projector that was in her office. She composed the holonet address of the _Chimæra_ and after ten seconds, the image of Captain Gilad Pellaeon, a fifty-five-year-old officer with gray hair and mustache materialized.

"Lady Claria!" he said with a smile, "what can I do for your service?"

"Here is my assistant, Lady Lumiya and Mr. Wrenga Jixton, one of your Corellian compatriots, Captain Pellaeon. You will take them on board and prepare to leave for the Beheboth system. Lady Lumiya will be in charge of the operational command of this mission and will explain the details to you. Also try to get hold of a Corellian YT Series cargo that you will load into your cargo bay. She doesn't need to be in very good condition, she will just have to fly enough to be used as a decoy."

"That shouldn't be a problem, my Lady, we regularly confiscate some from smugglers. When should we be ready to leave?"

"We have a few preliminary details to set up. Be prepared to leave for Beheboth tomorrow in the early afternoon captain."

"All right, it will be done according to your orders, Lady Claria."

Claria cut off the communication and ended the meeting. Lumiya and Jix each left separately to prepare for their mission. But first, Lumiya had to slice into the holonet messaging of her former classmate, Captain Myrette Davani. Penetrating the military mail system did not take much time, she had been trained in such operations. She took more to read all the messages that Myrette had exchanged with her parents Nils and Haryette, even finding some that dated from the time they were together at the Academy of Carida and where she talked to them about her. Myrette was worried about a growing darkness in her friend Shira, referring to an incident where she had killed six cadets during an exercise, the weapons of her bug walker MT-ST having apparently been configured by mistake for real fire. Instead of being horrified, Shira had burst in laughter and Myrette thought she may have snapped. Lumiya remembered this incident and in time she understood that it had been arranged by Vader, to know if she was ready to follow the path of the Dark Side, ready to kill without remorse. And she had passed the test perfectly.

Another much newer message shook her deeply: it was five months old and Myrette announced to her parents that she had learned of Shira's death during an infiltration mission. She had been devastated and had cried all night, unable to find sleep. But her conviction had been reinforced, and she had vowed to make these rebel scums pay the price of her best friend's death. Lumiya remembered the pain she had felt on Vader's death. Poor Rette, if she knew she had survived, had become a cyborg and had devoted her life to the Dark Side of the Force, what would she think of her?

Lumiya then began to write the false message. It was easy for her, she knew the style of her friend and had the context of the last messages exchanged with her parents. She told them that she had just learned that the Empire was going to strengthen its garrison on Beheboth in the next few days and was planning to set up there its main base for the Sanbra sector. This new base would accommodate several fighter squadrons and, given her excellent service record, she may be able to obtain her transfer and command of one of the squadrons, which would allow her to see them more often. Once fully satisfied with her text, she sent it and disconnected from the system, erasing her tracks. All that remained for her was to prepare herself for the mission she was to take command of the next day.

* * *

 _Notes :_ _A_ tooka _is a catlike animal species fairly common in the Galaxy._  
 _The character of Myrette Davani appears only in a little known work of the Legends Extended Universe, **Carida: Heavy Duty** , a set of articles written in 2003 by Cory J. Herndon for in the context of the Star Wars roleplaying game published by Wizards of the Coast. The anecdotes cited in this chapter involving Shira and Myrette on Carida are taken from these articles._


	12. Chapter 12: In the Galaxy's heart

_**Sorry for the loooong delay, but here's finally another chapter of Lady Claria's adventures.**_

 _ **Warning:**_ _ **This chapter contains erotic scenes! ;-)**_

 _ **Claria accompanies Palpatine visiting Byss in the Deep Core, Lumiya and Jix depart for Beheboth in the Outer Rim aboard the star destoyer Chimæra and on Arbra, things become serious between Han and Leia.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 12: In the Galaxy's heart**

During the night, Claria once again made the same dream of being crowned Empress and then giving birth to a daughter. She began to think that it was indeed a premonition sent to her by the Force.

While she had breakfast served, she was mentally contacted by the Emperor. He asked her to join him at the Palace's spaceport as soon as she was ready. Once she had finished, she put on her cloak over her suit, took her lightsaber and went to join her master. She found him preparing to get into his personal shuttle accompanied by an escort of Imperial Guards.

"Greetings, master," she said, bowing, "are you going on a journey?"

"Yes, and I was planning to ask you to accompany me, Lady Claria, I have to show you some things. By the way, have you made any progress in locating the Rebel Alliance headquarters?"

"Yes master, Lady Lumiya could tell me that they were most likely on a forest planet in the Outer Rim they call Arbra, between the Garis and Sanbra sectors. We will try to infiltrate one of our agents by attracting the _Millennium Falcon_ on Beheboth in the Sanbra sector. Lumiya and her agent Wrenga Jixton leave today for Beheboth aboard the _Chimæra_. I entrusted her with the command of this mission and can accompany you."

Claria went up with the Emperor and his suite on board the shuttle. The rear part of Palpatine's shuttle had been specially fitted for his use. There was an antechamber where the Imperial Guards were stationed and a small private apartment consisting of a living room, a bedroom and a refresher. There was also an emergency medical unit with a medical droid. Once they had taken off and had entered hyperspace, they isolated themselves in the living room.

"I am satisfied to see that you have reconciled with Lumiya, Lady Claria, do you trust her completely?"

"She has been a little unstable lately because of the hardships she went through, but I think we have every interest in trusting her, it can only strengthen her loyalty."

"Very well, I leave you to judge. And you, my dear, are you still resentful about these leaks in the press?"

"No master, I made clear to Ysanne Isard that I will no longer tolerate any challenge to my authority on her part and I think she understood the lesson."

"Now that you're a public person, you must prepare yourself for much worse than these few revelations, my child. See, just yesterday, we arrested a holofaker who had made a very daring fiction of which you were the heroine, Mara Jade! This told of your formation as Emperor's Hand in sadomasochistic mode with myself, Lord Vader, Ysanne Isard and Roganda Ismaren in the roles of your instructors. He called it _Fifty Shades of the Dark Side_ , referring to the number of sketches in the work. Quite creative, isn't it?"

Claria's heart skipped a beat, and she immediately felt overwhelmed by anger and hatred.

"What? Me in a BDSM holoporn? Ah kriff, I hope you had this filthy individual immediately executed, master!"

"I left him in Ysanne Isard's good care, she has always found very refined execution embodiments for such criminals."

Claria understood that Sidious was manipulating her again. He wanted her to imagine the torments Ysanne Isard would inflict on this faker, and even to suggest herself how to make him suffer; in order to drag her further down the Dark Side path. But she had always been deeply revulsed by torture and torments, she wanted a clean and fast justice and therefore did not want to venture on that slippery slope. But it was true that these counterfeit holoporns featuring celebrities were a real nuisance. It was relatively easy to shoot a scene with sex workers or slaves and then edit the recording on a computer to substitute the appearance of another person. If the faker was good, the result was confusingly realistic.

When she had nothing to do between her missions, Mara would often go for a walk in the Coruscant Underground; this gave her opportunities to perfect her fighting techniques to the detriment of the local scum. Once, out of curiosity, she had taken a stroll in a sex shop that was selling illegal holoporns. She had learned that the holos starring Wynssa Starflare were the most popular, was it not said that a billion hearts had been broken by her marriage to Baron Fel? Poor Wynssa, it must not have been easy for her to know her image thus exploited by unscrupulous criminals. Then came those showing the lovemaking of Grand Moff Tarkin and Admiral Daala, a great success in the military since Tarkin had died, his disgraced widow lived in seclusion on Eriadu and Daala had gone off the grid. She had even been shown a holo telling how a vicious and devious sexual slave seduced Darth Vader on the first Death Star in order to gain her freedom. At least the scenario was original, even if she would not give a credit for its author's life. As this detour in her thoughts allowed her to calm her anger, she decided to change the subject.

"Yes, Director Isard will certainly find the right punishment. But you haven't yet told me the purpose of this trip, master!"

"Given that the second Death Star was destroyed, Lady Claria, I would like to show you some other projects of mass destruction weapons currently under development that could serve us in the future."

"So we are going to the Mount Tantiss secret base on Wayland, I suppose? Where you have already taken me once?"

"No, my dear, not this time, we are going to Byss, in the Deep Core. It's a planet bathed by the Dark Side where I continue my research on Sith sorcery and where I have new weapons developed. Due to the high stellar density in the Deep Core, it can only be reached by following the Byss Run, a secret hyperlane. I will give you a datacard with its coordinates on our return."

"All right, master."

"There's also another reason why I want you to know this run, Lady Claria. When you'll have located the rebel headquarters and launched your attack, I would like you to make sure to capture Princess Leia Organa – alive – and bring her to a complex that I had built on one of the moons of Byss. We will keep her captive and try to turn her to the Dark Side."

"I will do according to your will, my master. Now, if I may, I would like to retire to meditate before we arrive."

"You can use the bedroom, my young friend, I'll stay here for the trip."

"Thank you, master."

Claria left the lounge for the bedroom. She sat on the floor in a meditative position and began to gather her thoughts. So, we got there: her master wanted to capture Leia, Vader's daughter, and draw her towards the Dark Side. And she was beginning to realize this was likely to happen at her own expense: just as Sidious had been willing to sacrifice Vader to convert Luke, he was surely ready to sacrifice her, Claria, to convert Leia.

She called upon the Force and began by erecting a mental barrier in her mind so that the Emperor could not read her thoughts and then concentrated on trying to perceive the future. Should she accept this sacrifice? Would Leia make a better Sith Lady than her? Would she bring order and justice or, on the contrary, chaos and destruction? Images began to appear in her mind, images of horror: thousands of worlds destroyed in flames by gigantic vessels that completely sterilized the surface, missiles launched through hyperspace that exploded entire planets, countless armies of Sith warriors cloned in factories similar to the one she had seen on Wayland before, led by crazed dark Jedi, slaughters, more slaughters and survivors reduced to slavery. Above all this, the Imperial Throne, occupied by a woman wearing the hooded black dress of the Sith. She had long brown hair and she had difficulty recognizing her face, so much was it deformed by hatred: it was nevertheless Leia Organa's face, she was sure of it. She had Sith yellow eyes, but above all, a crazed gaze such as she had never seen before, a gaze of pure terror that chilled her blood and soul.

No, Vader's daughter was not to take her place at her master's side or the Galaxy would experience a cataclysm of apocalyptic proportions with the Clone Wars only a trivial event in comparison. She will have to prevent it at all costs.

* * *

 _Imperial Star Destroyer_ Chimæra _, Coruscant orbit_

In the middle of the day, Jix came to join Lumiya at the imperial palace and they both took a shuttle to board the _Chimæra_. Captain Gilad Pellaeon welcomed them in person on their arrival.

"Lady Lumiya, Mr. Jixton, welcome on board the _Chimæra_. I will take you to your quarters."

"Thank you Captain," Lumiya replied, "we follow you."

Pellaeon watched them carefully. Given the looks and body language exchanged between Lumiya and Jixton he quickly deduced they were lovers and recently moreover. Everything in their attitude betrayed the attraction and desire they felt for each other. Adding to the fact that Lady Lumiya had asked that adjoining and communicating quarters be allocated to them, no more doubt was allowed. Pellaeon was himself a great seducer and his numerous female conquests had hindered his advancement, which explained that he was still only a senior captain after more than thirty-five years of service in the fleet.

The relationship between Lumiya and Jixton puzzled him indeed. The Dark Lady always hid the bulk of her face behind a veil or a helmet but he had heard that she had been very seriously mutilated, that her face was covered with many scars and that her body was made up in half of cybernetic prostheses covered with synthskin. It seemed at least that her feminine attributes were still functional, but he wondered what this Jixton scumbag could see in her. Was the rumor that the Dark Side of the Force followers were particularly gifted for sex then true? But this rumor also said that the price to pay could be very high. Pellaeon was pulled from his thoughts when they finally reached their destination.

"Here we are, Lady Lumiya, I have given you the VIP suite and Mr. Jixton will be able to stay in the service apartment next door. Is that okay for you?"

"It will be perfect captain," answered Lumiya.

"By the way, I managed to get a Corellian freighter as Lady Claria had asked me, a YT-1760 that was recently seized from a smuggler. It's at your disposal in the main hangar bay."

"Thank you Captain, we will inspect it upon arrival in the Beheboth system. You can leave as soon as you're ready. We're going to settle in our quarters, let me know when we arrive."

"All right, my lady, I leave you here."

Lumiya and Jix entered their quarters. The _Chimæra_ VIP suite was well-named, richly furnished, the living room was equipped with a state-of-the-art holographic projector and a large transparent window covering the entire back wall gave a stunning view of space. As for the room, there was a large bed with adjustable gravity field and white satin sheets. Lumiya pulled off her veil and headdress and then turned to Jix with a naughty smile.

"It will take us at least twelve hours to reach the Beheboth system. What would you say to try this bed in the meantime, darling? It looks very comfortable."

"No need to ask me twice, sweetheart," he answered.

* * *

An hour later, Jix was lying naked in the large bed of the room next to Lumiya. She turned her back to him, lying on her side, the sheet hanging just above her cybernetic girdle, her brown-red hair falling on her shoulders. She seemed deeply asleep. Jix was exhausted too, but especially worried about what had happened while they were making love.

While Lumiya was riding him and approaching orgasm, she had started, between two moans, to whisper words in a strange language he had never heard before, some kind of litany. Jix had at once felt chilly, as if the temperature had suddenly dropped by several degrees. When she had come, her eyes closed and body arched backwards, her hands clasping his shoulders sharply, he had seen blue lightning crackle on her skin, at least on the organic part of her body. He himself had then been swept away by a wave of warmth and passion and his own orgasm had reached such an intensity that he had never experienced before. He had joined her in a common ecstasy and had the impression that their two bodies were just one and that he also felt her pleasure. This magical moment had seemed to last for long minutes after which he had returned to reality. When Lumiya had opened her eyes in turn, they were shining with a yellow glow. Seeing his worried looks, she had kissed him, saying that everything was fine, separated from him and laid on the side, falling asleep almost immediately.

Jix was beginning to understand what had happened. Lumiya had invoked the Dark Side of the Force to bring them both to a pleasure of supernatural intensity. This girl was really incredible. But he too had been exposed to this dark energy and he knew it was not without risk, especially when you were Force blind. He had heard rumors about some Imperial concubines. For the moment he just felt an intense fatigue and had to struggle with all his strength not to fall asleep. He could nevertheless not resist for a long time and eventually sank off to sleep in his turn, hoping that he would not have aged ten years on his awakening.

* * *

 _Rebel Alliance Headquarters, Arbra_

Leia was back from a training session with Luke. They had spent the afternoon running through the forest, stopping regularly for meditation or telekinesis sessions. Luke had explained to her that he had trained in this way with Master Yoda on Dagobah and that it was during one of these sessions that he had seen them – she, Han and Chewie – suffer at Vader's hands on Bespin. Leia had no vision during her meditation sessions but Luke praised her for her progress in telekinesis: she had succeeded in displacing stones of several kilograms with the Force. "Size matters not", Master Yoda had said to Luke, "to believe enough is." Leia had confidence in her abilities and had succeeded. Now she was tired and soaked in sweat; all she wanted was to take a good sanisteam in her quarters. She had dressed in a practical way for her training: trousers, military shoes and a sleeveless shirt that was now soaked and stuck to her skin; not really an outfit that suited a royal princess, even of adoption.

Luke had just left her to join his own quarters and when she reached her door, she was surprised to find Han who seemed to be waiting for her. It was the last person she wanted to come across at the moment with her attire that bordered on indecency. Of course, Han did not fail to notice her tight-fitting shirt and sent her a wry smile.

"Well, Your Highness," he said, "that's a very unusual outfit."

"I spent the afternoon training with Luke in the forest, Han," she replied. "For this, princess dresses are not really suitable. Now, if you don't mind, I would like to take a sanisteam and change."

"I know you were with Luke in the forest, Winter told me. Between your Jedi training sessions and your meetings with Mon Mothma and the other counselors, I can't see you anymore. Are you running away from me, Leia? Yet I had understood you loved me!"

"No Han, I'm not running away, it's... complicated. And you don't do anything to make things easy for me either. You know what's threatening us, I have to train with Luke, something tells me that our survival depends on it."

"Another one of your kriffin' Jedi intuitions, isn't it?"

"Oh Han, if you knew how it terrifies me, I need your support more than ever. Hold me in your arms!"

Leia embraced him and Han leaned down to kiss her neck. Her skin was so soft on his lips, moist and deliciously salty. The smell of her hair was captivating and gave rise to his desire.

Leia felt delicious shivers all over her body as Han kissed her neck. She felt her nipples harden and with her tight-fitting shirt, Han did not fail to notice.

"Well, Your Highness, it seems that this time I succeeded in exciting you!"

"Speak for yourself, you horny Devaronian! And how often have I told you to stop calling me so!"

"Countless times, Leia darling. But I never denied I was attracted to you!"

Somewhat annoyed, Leia unlocked the door of her quarters and entered. Han hastened to follow her before she could close it back.

"Han! What are you doing? Get out and let me refresh myself!"

"Look at me in the eyes Leia, say you don't want me and I'll leave you."

Leia hesitated a moment; part of her was tired and wanted to send this unbearable scoundrel to the Sith, the other part wanted more than anything to feel his hands and lips on her skin. This time, desire prevailed.

"I can't Han," she replied, "I want you!"

Leia locked the door again and kissed Han passionately. She then began to undo the buttons on his jacket as Han pulled her shirt away. They were soon both bare-chested. In a final gesture of modesty, Leia crossed her arms in front of her chest, but Han grabbed her wrists and gently spread her arms to admire her.

"How beautiful you are Leia, and so desirable! You know what I miss most about our latest adventures? To have been blind when you wore this bikini at Jabba's palace, Lando can't stop telling me how sexy you were!"

"Well, don't count on me to put it back. It was maybe sexy but terribly uncomfortable! I got rid of it, by the way."

"Anyway, you're even more beautiful without anything! Are you sure we won't be disturbed this time? Goldenrod or Plif aren't hanging around the corner looking for you?"

"They have no reason to look for me at the moment, they know I have to spend the afternoon training with Luke. And you, no risk to see Chewie or Lando dropping by?"

"I don't want to think about that! But I doubt that they would dare to pick me up in your quarters. Well, I only have to get rid of these unsightly military fatigues and your lightsaber and we can move on to serious things."

While saying this, Han gently stroked her breasts. Leia felt more and more excited.

"You can take off my boots and pants, but don't you touch my lightsaber, you corellian scoundrel! And then, I want you all to myself!"

Leia went to put her lightsaber on the bedside table next to her bed, then they helped each other to get rid of the rest of their clothes. Then, burning with desire, they entwined their naked bodies in the bed, exchanging countless caresses and kisses.

* * *

 _Palpatine's Imperial shuttle, approaching Byss_

As the Imperial Shuttle was about to reach its destination, the Emperor invited Claria to join him in the cockpit to witness the final approach. She had just entered when the shuttle left hyperspace near a beautiful blue-green planet. Seen from space, there was no indication that Byss was a world deeply imbued with the Dark Side of the Force, there were oceans and continents, the main one almost entirely covered by a vast city. It was bathed in a blue light produced by a distant and yet dazzling sun, a hot star whose short existence should not have allowed the development of life on one of its planets. Indeed, life had not developed naturally on Byss; the planet had been terraformed almost fifty thousand years ago by the Infinite Empire of the Rakata using the Dark Side of the Force. When the Rakatan Empire collapsed twenty-five thousand years ago, Byss was forgotten for a long time and was only rediscovered fifty years ago. It was then chosen as the backup capital by Palpatine in the first months of the Empire. He built a large city there and the planet served as a center of research and secret training for followers of the Dark Side.

Orbiting the planet were five natural satellites and numerous combat stations and shipyards. Byss was also protected by a planetary shield and a whole fleet of cruisers was patrolling the system. Palpatine ordered the shuttle pilot to make a detour through the orbital shipyards to show Claria the new weapons that were being built to compensate for the loss of the second Death Star. They first saw a new model of Super Star Destroyer – _Eclipse_ class – equipped as standard with a superlaser capable of instantly destroying any other vessel and destined to become the Emperor's own command ship. Then Palpatine showed her the World Devastators, gigantic vessels derived from the _Leviathan_ factory ships, capable, as their name suggested, of devastating the surface of a planet with a powerful tractor beam and then recycling the collected materials by making new weapons. Claria had to suppress a shiver as she recognized the ships she had seen in her vision a few hours before.

Once they had finished flying around the orbital shipyards, the shuttle contacted the planetary control to request the deactivation of the shield and announce the arrival of the Emperor and Lady Claria to the Imperial Citadel. Confirmation arrived immediately and the shuttle headed for the planet. They flew over the main continent almost entirely covered by the vast imperial city and its high towers which – apart from the very cold light of the system's blue star – looked very much like Coruscant. They headed for a tower higher than all the others, in the shape of a black and red mushroom, the Imperial Citadel of Byss. The shuttle landed in a hangar bay at the top of the tower. Palpatine, Claria and their escort descended from the shuttle and were greeted by a reception committee made up of stormtroopers, imperial guards and two Dark Side warriors with a sinister face. One was a fairly young man with short black hair, the other was older with shoulder-length brown hair. Both had their eyes on Claria and as they approached, she heard what the brown one was telling to his companion about her.

"Kriff! Have a look at the chick who's coming Sedriss, she's damn well curvy. Holy Sith, I could really do her!"

Once again, Claria's heart skipped a beat, and this time she made no attempt to contain her rage and hatred. On the contrary, she let herself be invaded by the Dark Side, raised her right hand, clenching her fist, and lifted the brown-haired man with the Force, squeezing his neck.

"I'm not a _chick_ , you slimy degenerate son of a Hutt," she barked. "I'm a _Sith_!"

The man put his hands around his neck and tried to speak but only muffled groans came out of his mouth. His gaze turned into an expression of panic while his black-haired companion remained impassive. Claria squeezed harder, the man's face became purplish, his eyes revolved in their sockets and his neck broke in a horrible crack. At the moment he died, Claria's vision shifted towards the red and she felt overwhelmed by intense pleasure. She did not need a mirror to know that her eyes were turning yellow again. She let go of the man who fell to the ground, his head leaning unnaturally and blood trickling out of his mouth. She felt that her master approved what she had just done, and that the other man, Sedriss, did not disapprove either. At first he spoke briefly to the corpse at his feet.

"You really shouldn't have said that, Stuxx!"

Then he kneeled before the Emperor and Claria.

"My congratulations, Your Majesty, you have well chosen your new apprentice, she's worthy to follow in Lord Vader's steps. Welcome to Byss, Darth Claria, I'm Sedriss QL, leader of the Dark Side Elite and guardian of Byss. I hope that the misplaced remarks of my foolish assistant will not have you durably offended."

"Don't worry," Claria replied, "I know how to control my anger and use it wisely. By the way, why do you call yourself Sedriss _QL_?"

"Qaga Lok was my old name when I was a lawless mercenary, my Lady. When His Majesty took me in his service, I took the name of Sedriss, retaining only the initials of my old name."

"And you have served me well since then Sedriss," intervened Palpatine. "Rise now, my friend. I would like to show the Imperial Citadel to Lady Claria."

"Of course, Your Majesty. If you will follow me, my Lady?"

Sedriss first led Palpatine and Claria into the vast throne hall of the citadel, which was as vast and majestic as that of the Imperial Palace on Coruscant. He presented to Claria other members of the Dark Side Elite: Kam Solusar, Vill Goir, Badon Fass and Krdys Mordi. Claria was particularly impressed by Kam Solusar, a tall young man with white hair and brown eyes who was the only one of the elite warriors not to be completely impregnated by the Dark Side. He was also the only one with Sedriss to respect her sincerely whereas she felt that Goir, Fass and Mordi did not approve of the Emperor having chosen a woman as a new apprentice; even if they dared not show it for fear of suffering the same fate as their former companion Stuxx Alvill. She felt that Solusar could turn out to be a potential ally in the future.

She was then introduced to Umak Leth, the engineer who had designed the molecular furnaces at the heart of the World Devastators. He was now working on the design of a new weapon, the Galactic Gun, which should send missiles through hyperspace capable of destroying any planet in the Galaxy. She repressed another shudder as she thought this was one of the weapons of mass destruction she had seen in her last vision.

They then went down into the lower levels of the Citadel, where there were research and Sith alchemy laboratories, a vast library specialized in Dark Side works, and a cloning center similar to that Claria had seen on Wayland, housing hundreds of Spaarti cylinders capable of producing an adult clone in a standard year. It reminded her once more of her vision where cloned Dark Side warriors sowed death and destruction across the Galaxy.

After the visit of the Citadel, Sedriss accompanied them to the Imperial shuttle. Before leaving, the Emperor inquired of one last thing.

"Tell me Sedriss, is the construction of the penitentiary complex on the far side of the second moon finished? We may soon have to welcome a distinguished prisoner."

"Yes, Your Majesty, everything is ready as you ordered."

"Very well, we will fly over it before heading back to Coruscant."

"Goodbye, Your Majesty, it was an honor to welcome you on Byss as well as Lady Claria."

Palpatine and Claria boarded their shuttle and left the Imperial Citadel. They headed for the second of Byss' five moons to fly over the far side and passed over the penitentiary complex which had been built in one of the many craters. Then the shuttle flew away and entered hyperspace for the return trip to Coruscant.

* * *

 _Notes : Holofakers come from Barbara Hambly's novel **Planet of Twilight** where a certain Liegeus Vorn made false holovids to hide Leia's kidnapping. I adapted the idea to a more scathing type of holovids, providing a way for Sidious to stir up hate in his young apprentice._

 _Byss, the super-weapons of mass destruction that are manufactured there and the Dark Side Elite are taken from the comics series **Dark Empire**._

 _The holovid featuring Vader and a sex slave on the first Death Star is a reference to **Ivy Leigh** 's story **Dark Angel Unleashed**. **  
**_


End file.
